Rise of the Guardians
by Daishi Prime
Summary: 4 years after the Sand attack on Konoha, 6 Genin pass their exams and become Konoha shinobi. What will the oath they swore as children, and the steps they took to fulfill it, cost them? OCAU? M for violence & language. Chapters 00 to 18 updated April 20
1. 00 Of Oaths & Arrogance

**Rise of the Guardians**

By: Daishi Prime

Disclaimer – I do not own Naruto, neither the manga nor the series, not the characters or the world. I just play here.

- Prologue – Of Oaths & Arrogance -

He sensed the first of them come around the corner and stop, but couldn't look up. All he could do, for the moment, was sit and stare. Across the dirt street was nothing but wreckage, a pile of half-burned timbers and shattered tiles. There was nothing there now, no sign of the memories, of eight years of his life, of his family.

He had made it through the funeral, listened as others spoke of his parents, of his family, and held himself together through an act of will. His face had been a frozen mask, and he knew his friends were concerned, but it was all he had left, the control they had taught him. "Remember, Raiden," his father always told him, "control yourself, and you can do anything." His mother had said it more colorfully, but still meant the same thing.

Now, that control was ragged. He had nowhere else to go, so he had simply wandered. Habit had returned him here, as it had for his entire life, and now he sat on a neighbor's wall, ignored the cracked and jagged stone beneath him, and stared at the ruins. He couldn't think, couldn't cry, couldn't act. All he could do was stare. He couldn't even comfort his friends for their own losses.

Even as the first to arrive sat beside him, he could sense others, friends for years, coming to find him. Still, he sat, staring at his devastated past.

------------------------------

Yohko sat down beside Raiden on the wall, considering. She knew he was in pain, knew he was lost, but didn't know how to show him the way back, or even if there _was _a way back. She looked at him as she waited, taking in the black mourning robes, the short white hair inherited from his mother, the grey eyes staring-wide but dry. He was remarkably loose, physically, not clutching or tense, merely sitting, with the relaxed readiness trained into them by Oraka-sensei over the past years. So she waited, letting her presence be known, giving him the time to come back himself.

While she waited, a few others came, from their own ceremonies, for the most part. She greeted each of them as they arrived, considering them in turn as they took up their own places, to wait and watch. Kuma, already taller than the rest of them, leaned against the only column still standing from Raiden's house, brooding gaze sweeping back and forth. Juubei and Rumiko, arriving together, settled down on Raiden's other side, present but, like Yohko, keeping silent to avoid disturbing Raiden before he was ready. For a wonder, even Mitsumi, when she arrived, contented herself with crouching in the roadway, flipping a kunai from hand to hand, glancing furtively at Raiden every so often.

While she waited, Yohko contemplated why they had gathered, and why here. Each of them had their own losses to mourn, their own fresh pains. But the six of them had been friends for as long as their eight-year-old selves could remember, and a combination of habit and instinct brought them together now. She shied away from remembering her father, and knew the others were doing the same, Juubei and Mitsumi their mother, Tanaka his mother and brother, Rumiko her father. Each of them had seen their families devastated, even if only Raiden had been orphaned. Yet they had gathered together, instead of with their surviving families, waiting for Raiden. She worried at that thought for a time, and in a flash of insight, Yohko realized that he had been their leader from the start, and now they were looking to him to show them how to deal with this terrifying new world.

They waited for over an hour, silent, patient. The only motion was the occasional shift, a change in posture or position. But none of them left, did not even think to leave. They had come to wait for Raiden, and wait they would.

Finally, without looking up, or the slightest change of expression, Raiden spoke. Not words of comfort, but words that caught at each of them, nonetheless. "I swear," he began softly, voice harsh with unshed tears, "by the blood of my family, upon my own soul, I swear. I will guard this village from harm for the rest of my days and beyond, with all the power I can scrounge." Staring at him, Yohko could sense the chakra spiraling inside him, unsteady but rising, and realized he was literally binding himself with the oath. He continued, voice now a snarl, "I will use any tactic, any technique I must, to ensure this never happens again, that no enemy, foreign shinobi or traitor, ever damages Konoha so again! I so swear."

They stared at him, unable to believe what he had just said, what he had done. Then, still crouched in the street, Mitsumi broke the silence, "I swear." Raiden moved, finally, looking right at her. Without a pause, without trace of second thought, she continued, swearing the same oath. Neither of them blinked, or looked away until she was finished.

Another voice took up the oath, and she was halfway through it before Yohko realized it was her own. But she did not stop, binding herself as Raiden and Mitsumi had. One by one, Tanaka, Juubei and Rumiko swore as well, taking Raiden's oath as their own. Even then, they understood they had just taken a step that would shape their lives forever, and when Rumiko's voice finally faded, they traded looks of concern, shaking with suppressed reaction.

Raiden stood, a moment later, and nodded to each of them. "There's more," he said. "My uncle told me, years ago, of some books. Secrets, of the Fourth. I'm going to get them. We need to be strong to hold that oath, and those books hold secrets that can make us strong. Meet me here, tomorrow morning. I'll have them. We'll copy them and return them, so no one notices they're missing. Then, we train. We're in the academy for four more years, but until then, we train together separately, as well. _And this will never happen again_!"


	2. 01 Meetings

**Rise of the Guardians**

By: Daishi Prime

- 1 – Meetings -

Standing by her desk, watching, Hinata could not help smiling slightly. It had taken her months to become used to standing in front of her students two years past, and now she was surprised to find herself already missing them. The day before had filled her with the nervousness she remembered from her own time on the raised student benches, but her class had done her proud.

While she waited for the last stragglers to arrive, she studied them, and remembered. She had passed her own Chunin exam on her second try, surprising herself as much as her family. For a time, she had continued to undertake missions with Kiba, Shino and Kurenai-san, but when this class' teacher had retired from Konoha's shinobi due to illness, the Fifth had offered her a chance to try her hand at teaching.

She sensed her last students arriving before they entered, and checked the clock. Shaking her head, she said aloud, "Twins, you are entirely too close to being late. Shinobi are expected to be on time, yes, but early is better, ne?"

Stopping, her last six students, looked at each other, then bowed slightly to her. Lined up at the door, they made quite a sight. Raiden, leading as always, was relaxed, in his loose pants and jacket, sandals and fingerless gloves, his long white hair pulled back loosely. He had added a new belt-buckle, and Hinata couldn't help frowning at wearing a forehead protector so. Yohko, barely reaching Raiden's shoulder, had a hand in one of the multitude of pockets covering her shorts and vest, and had at least put the strip of metal in the right place. Mitsumi, with her strange white eyes, was fiddling with her own forehead protector, apparently thinking of covering her eyes with it. That did unfortunate things to her jacket, considering the body-suit and shorts. Next in line stood Tanaka, known to one and all as 'Kuma', already towering over his classmates at nearly six feet, with muscle mass to match. Like Raiden, he favored loose hakima-style clothes, and also like Raiden, he wasn't wearing his forehead protector properly, but hanging loosely around his neck. Quiet Rumiko seemed to be trying to hide behind her giant friend, blue panel dress and black pants blending into his shadow, her brown hair held off her face by the Konoha sigil. Last of all, already leaning on the door before she looked at him was Mitsumi's real twin, Juubei, wiry form wrapped up in shorts and shirt so tight they looked painful, covered by a cargo vest the mirror image of Yohko's, the forehead protector dangling from a catch.

"Apologies, sensei," Raiden spoke for them, "we were caught up in training, and lost track of time."

Considering the slightly ruffled look of all six, especially the dried sweat her Hyuuga eyes made clear, she tilted her head slightly. "You have passed your Genin exams, surely you could take a morning off to relax, ne?"

His answering grin was slightly sheepish. "Ah, true sensei, but we didn't think of it. Morning training is simply habit."

Saitomo Toben, leaning back in his chair, muttered something to his companion, causing the other boy to laugh. Hinata caught only part of it, "...mediocre slackers...," and was about to chastise the young man. But Mitsumi beat her to the punch. Those strange all-white eyes snapped on to Toben, seeming to stare straight through the rest of the class. "What would a no-talent hack like you know about work, dobe?"

Toben, stung, was on his feet in a heartbeat, glaring back at her. Surprised by Mitsumi's comment - the six were usually so quiet and self-absorbed they reminded her of herself as a child - Hinata waited, to see where this confrontation would lead. Toben snarled, "At least I can manage more than a couple child-level jutsus, baka."

Mitsumi grinned, and Hinata shivered. There was a snarling quality to that grin she had never seen before, "Aho," Mitsumi whispered back, leaning forward slightly over the rear desk, voice suddenly a silken-soft threat, "I will dance with you...," she cut off, unexpectedly. Hinata did not see Raiden move until after he took Mitsumi's shoulder. The girl paused for a few seconds, that grin growing more dangerous, and then in flash it was gone, and the quietly rambunctious but nice girl Hinata had taught for two years reappeared. Bowing slightly to Hinata, Mitsumi said, "Gomen, Hyuuga-sensei, Raiden."

Now completely ignoring Toben, she pulled the nearest seat out from the desk and settled herself in it. Raiden took the seat on her left, and Tanaka on her right. Hinata watched the other three move around and take the three seats in front of them without surprise. They had sat in the same positions as long as she had known them, which helped explain their nickname, but today she found herself wondering why they sat so for the first time.

"Sit, Saitomo-kun," Hinata ordered, and when he had resumed his seat, continued, "Well, now that the Six Twins have joined us, we can begin. First, please allow me to congratulate you all on passing your Genin exams and becoming shinobi of Konoha. I am proud of your accomplishments, and Oraka-sensei asked me to express his own congratulations and pride, when I informed him last evening of your results." A small murmur passed through the young Genin. Oraka had been a popular sensei, and despite his increasing frailty had remained involved with his last group of students and their new teacher.

Hinata smiled, allowing the bittersweet emotions of the moment to shape the expression. "However, I am afraid that this will be the last time we meet as sensei and student. Today, you will all be assigned to your Genin teams. Each team has three Genin, and an experienced Jounin. As of today, these Jounin will be your new teachers; _they _will continue the process of shaping you into the great shinobi each of you has the opportunity and potential to become."

She picked up the lone scroll on her desk and began unrolling it, "Now, each team will have a numeric designation. I will call out that designation, and then the members of it. Your Jounin will meet you here at one o'clock this afternoon, with one exception. Until then, you will all be free, though I will be available if any of you have questions concerning your teams." She paused, remembering her own team assignments and certain individuals' reactions to those assignments, "except, of course, complaints about the team assignments. Those are, fortunately for my sanity, determined by the elders, not me. If any of you feel like accosting the Fifth Hokage in her study, feel free." A collective laugh, nervous but a laugh, rolled through the class. The Fifth's temper was well known, as was her preferred method for dealing with those she considered annoying or foolish. Several spare doors for her office were stored in the Tower's basement.

Taking a breath to steady herself, Hinata began reading. The list was long, and she found herself considering the teams as they were assembled, matching strengths to weaknesses. It took her a while to work through, especially when particular friends or rivals found themselves on the same team. About half way through her list, she paused, considering. Then she looked up at the Twins, and said, "Personally, I disagree with this. You kids need to learn to work with someone else. But the Elders apparently do not feel any need to alter your arrangements. Team Eight! Sato Tanaka, Yamamato Rumiko, Mitarashi Juubei. Team Nine! Iraisen Yohko, Mitarashi Mitsumi, Kodachi Raiden."

She re-rolled the scroll, and set it on her desk, considering. Most of the class was already lost in conversations, discussing the team assignments. Her six mysteries, however, were a study in contrasts. Most of them appeared to be relieved, but they were watching Raiden. She could see relief on his face as well, but also an odd discontent. _It's almost as if he agrees with me, _she thought to herself. She had to slap her open palm on her desk to get everyone's attention back to herself. "As I said, most of your Jounin's will be here at one. However, Team Nine, your Jounin has asked me to have you assemble at the North Tower of the outer wall, immediately. The rest of you, class dismissed."

------------------------------

A few minutes later, Raiden settled into a crouch on the rampart of the north tower, leaning one hand on a corner column. Below him, the forest around Konoha stretched out to the horizon, with the cliffs backing the village towering overhead. The wind was moving the tree tops below him, sending echoes whispering off the cliffs. Behind him, Yohko and Mitsumi remained on the tower floor, leaning on the ramparts. Yohko leaned out over the village, while Mitsumi rested her elbows and back on the wall behind Raiden, facing along the village wall.

After a few minutes of silently watching the world around them, Mitsumi asked, "So, why do you think our new Jounin wanted to see us 'immediately'? Power tripping, or something?"

Raiden made a non-committal sound, continuing to scan the forest. Yohko shook her head, "She, or he, is a Jounin, 'sune. Probably busy, and with limited time to spend babysitting a trio of Genin, responsibility or no."

Mitsumi cocked her head slightly, "So, we've either got someone who thinks leading a trio of new Genin is beneath them, or someone who's so strong and so powerful, the Hokage won't leave her be?"

"Something like that," Yohko agreed, "though remember, we know nothing yet other than this person's rank. Not even gender."

"Bet Raiden's hoping it's a woman, someone else to ogle."

True to form, the object of her teasing didn't move. He did respond, however, "You ogle more women than I do, Chibi-ko." He ignored her sudden glare as well, continuing, "I'm thinking our Jounin's just unconventional, prone to do the unexpected, and perfectly willing to leave a trio of Genin to stew in their own juices, just so she can see what they're like."

Yohko sighed. "Raiden," she began with an aggrieved tone, "It's not nice to ruin the sensei's illusions like that. She might get to thinking we need more challenges."

She hadn't finished speaking before the Jounin in question came over the rampart, vaulting over Mitsumi with ease to land in the center of the tower floor. She was taller than her students, but not by much, with crazy purple hair pulled back roughly. A fishnet jumpsuit covered tight shorts and top, and was in turn covered by a large and voluminous coat. Her forehead protector was traditionally placed, but at jaunty ankle, and the grin on her face was infectious. Unfortunately, only one of her new students was looking at her.

"We do need more challenges," Raiden countered, "Hinata-sensei was correct, for instance. We do need to get used to working with other people, not just our own group."

Anko cleared her throat loudly, "'Scuse, punk, but would you mind turning around?"

Raiden spun in place, swapping hands on the column to maintain his balance. "Apologies, Mitarashi-sensei, merely keeping watch."

"It's a habit with us," Yohko explained, shifting to stand beside Mitsumi, "we tend to keep a collective watch over whatever area we're in."

Mitsumi chimed in, "Constructive paranoia, it's called."

Looking the three Genin over, especially Mitsumi's urchin-like grin, Anko Mitarashi began wondering if this would really be a 'vacation' after all. First glance showed all three to be relatively typical Genin, more bravado than sense and more potential than skill. But immediate signs began disturbing that impression.

The smallest of the three, Yohko, was too calm, for someone facing a Jounin superior for the first time. Her steady, mismatched gaze was disconcerting, and something about it set Anko's neck to tingling. Only slightly worse, her niece's pure white eyes were just as steadily fixated on her, and Anko knew for a fact that Mitsumi was blind. The grin promised that, whatever else had changed since Anko last saw her brother's family, Mitsumi was still a walking trouble-magnet.

But what most disturbed her was Raiden. She had been told that he was the natural leader of this particular group of students, and everything she had seen while watching them approach the tower and wait for her proved that true. It might make her job easier if one of the Genin was already an accepted authority figure, someone she could delegate tasks too without having to test the group first, if he held up. But now, the way he was crouched on the rampart, it was quite obvious that he considered her a threat to his teammates. More impressively, his stance indicated that he _expected _to take her on, which was ridiculous. He was a Genin, newly minted at that, and she was an experienced Jounin. Yet there he crouched, perfectly ready to take her on.

Externally, she frowned repressively. Internally, she was giggling like a schoolgirl. _These kids are going to be so much fun,_ she thought to herself. "How did you know I was there?"

Mitsumi snickered, "My eyes may not work, Anko-chan, but that doesn't mean I'm blind."

"Urusai, Chibi-ko," Raiden snapped, swatting her lightly on the head, "She's not your aunt here."

Over his comments, Yohko explained, "Mitsumi taught herself to compensate for her eyes by sensing chakra. She is rather more sensitive to it than anyone else in our class."

"She's no Hyuuga, mind you," Raiden added, "but she gets the job done. When she's not drooling over the nearest bishi."

"'Least I have taste, you demented little rat." Mitsumi was now sulking against the wall, arms crossed and head, down, but her 'muttered' comment was quite audible.

Sensing the impending brawl between Raiden and Mitsumi, Anko converted the incipient laugh into a cough, "Children. Much as I like a good lover's quarrel," she said, grinning at the sudden discomfort of all three, "we're here for a purpose. So, you think you're Genin, now, do you?"

A chorus of, "Hai, sensei."

She did laugh at that, "Oh, that's a good one. No, no, no, you're not Genin. You _might _be Genin. Yesterday's little exam was nothing, a formality, a token to give us Jounin an excuse to cut you off at the knees and reduce you to puling babes once more. See, today and tomorrow, _we_ give you your Genin exam. Each of us gets to set the terms, conditions, and final grade however we want. So, you cute little kids, are now completely at my mercy. Any objections?"

Yohko sighed, shaking her head. "I told you it was too easy," she said. Mitsumi replied with a disgusted sound, Raiden merely nodded.

"No questions then?" Anko repeated herself, somewhat surprised. "All right then, on to the fun stuff. You have kits? Field kits?" At their nods, she leapt lightly up beside Raiden, standing rather than crouched. "Who feels like a race? No one?" She chuckled at their mixed expressions, "Too bad! I love a good race! North of here, about a day's travel, is the Tora River. Tomorrow, at sunrise, the three of you will leave at the same time from this tower, after which you will travel along the cliff-tops to the Tora. You will have until sunset to _cross_ the Tora. The first two across pass, the straggler goes back to the Academy for another year. Or four. Anyone who doesn't make it across the river by sunset also fails.

"Other than that, the rules are simple. Whatever you want to take, feel free. Whatever you want to do to get across first, feel free. I, for example, will feel perfectly free to throw obstacles in your way left and right, to set traps, place ambushes, attack leaders, whatever I want. The reverse applies. _Now _do you have any questions?"

They looked at her for a moment, then at each other. "One questions, sensei," Raiden said after a moment. "The test begins at sunrise? Until then we are free to do whatever we wish?"

"Certainly. I won't begrudge you one day of freedom before dooming your hopes for another year!"

Raiden nodded, then turned back to his teammates, "Yohko, you have that research project we discussed on the way here. Mitsumi, fast recon along the cliff top, get a feel for the terrain. I'll head back to the dojo and pack our kits, leave a message for the others. Go."

Anko blinked, surprised by the rapid orders, and by the haste with which they were obeyed. All three Genin launched from the tower without hesitation. Mitsumi trotted out along the last section of wall, then leaping from boulder to boulder up the cliff face. Yohko and Raiden both descended the narrow stairs backing the tower, moving quite quickly, but split up at the bottom, she heading towards the center of Konoha, he moving around the perimeter.

"Interesting," Anko muttered to herself, watching the youngsters move. "Fast plan, good orders, and no hesitation." A moment later, she sighed dejectedly, "This was _supposed _to be a _vacation_. Nice easy missions for a couple of years so I could relax. Kuso! If these three pass, I'm might actually have to _work_!"

------------------------------

Raiden lead Yohko and Mitsumi up the tower steps early the next day, over an hour before dawn. The pre-dawn gloom limited his vision, but his hearing was good enough to catch the half-whispered warning from Mitsumi, bringing up the rear. He therefore paused at the top, instead of stepping through, and nodded politely to the pair of Chunin standing to one side.

He studied them for a few moments, while they returned the favor, then cleared the way for Yohko and Mitsumi, moving to place himself between the Chunin and his teammates. He watched them, noting their shift in posture as he maneuvered, and all of them understood each other. _Almost like they're one of us_, he thought to himself.

Lounging on the rampart, Mitarashi looked the three of them over, "What's up, kids? Though you'd get an early start?" She shook a finger admonishingly, "tsk, tsk, that would be cheating!"

"No, sensei," Yohko answered, "we merely planned to be early, to insure we were not late."

"Hah, a likely excuse. Any luck with your research yesterday?"

"Some," Yohko allowed, with a smile.

Anko waited for elaboration, then smiled, "And what were you researching?"

"You."

"Me?"

"Know thine enemy," Raiden muttered, still staring at the Chunin. Until Yohko slapped him upside the head. He blinked, rubbing the sore spot behind his ear, giving her a quizzical look. "What was that for?"

She glared right back at him, "Being an ass. Mitarashi-sensei is not our enemy, Raiden."

"Are you certain of that?" He could hear the amusement in Mitarashi-sensei's voice, and swiveled his eyes to her.

Yohko also turned to their teacher, and nodded. "You defend Konoha, yes? Then you are no enemy of ours."

"Yet," Raiden amended. This time he was expecting it, and blocked Yohko's slap, matching her glare for glare.

Mitarashi-sensei's chuckles brought their attention back to her. "Find out anything interesting?"

Yohko matched the older woman's smile, "Some things. I haven't finished my inquiries yet, but some things have proven very interesting."

"Such as?"

"Your first Jounin was Orochimaru." The Chunin tensed, one of them hissing slightly, but Yohko continued, "You also were part of the first team to try and hunt him down, and have proven to be one of the best at opposing his plans since. Though you apparently have been unable to defeat him in open combat."

Mitarashi-sensei settled back into a lounging posture again, waving a hand dismissively, "He was a Sanin. Even the other Sanin couldn't defeat him – that took Akatsuki, the Sanin, Naruto and Sasuke combined. What about you, Chibi-ko? Have fun on your hike yesterday?"

Even without looking at her, Raiden could sense the spike of fury in Mitsumi at the use of the nickname. To his surprise, she did not explode as normal, merely answered, "Oh, it was interesting enough, Ba-chan."

Mitarashi cackled, "Ba-Chan! Ha! I'm not near old enough to be your grandmother, Chib..., niece! Let's hope today's more interesting, ne?"

Raiden felt her eyes settle on him, and turned his attention off the Chunin again. "Feeling domestic, were we?"

"Someone had to pack," he answered, "and this way I know exactly what's in each of their kits. Makes it easier to decide what tasks to give to each of them."

"Hmmm, what makes you think you'll be deciding that?"

He answered her grin with a raised eyebrow, "Experience. Of the three of us, I'm the best leader."

"The strongest?"

"Hardly. Yohko is my equal, by most measures, and Mitsumi is stronger." He glanced at her, then, seeing where her attention was focused and the set of her face, added, "Or would be, if she could stop drooling over the boys long enough to train."

Mitsumi's come-back was in a sugar-sweet little girl voice, "But they're so pretty! I like the pretty ones." The feral look she gave the two Chunin made one shiver, "They're so much easier to break."

"'Sune, you're scaring them," Yohko admonished her, "they think you're crazy."

"So?"

"So you're scaring _me_," Raiden answered, "damp it down, 'Sune."

She muttered something under her breath, but relaxed back into the corner between ramparts. Mitarashi looked the three of them over again, then asked, "'Sune'?"

"Her nickname," Yohko answered moving to lean against Mitsumi. "We call her 'Kitsune' when she's being troublesome like that."

"Hmm, 'that so? I like it, I think. Back to subject!" Her gaze locked onto Raiden again, challenging him. "If you aren't the strongest, why isn't Mitsumi in charge? That is traditional, after all."

"Mitsumi is strong, but she lacks control. Even Yohko does not have the self control I have."

"Self control, eh? You're a kid, what do you know about self-control?"

"Enough that I'm standing here with a broken toe on my left foot and you didn't notice." He answered her surprised blink with a grin of his own, "broke it training a couple of days ago. It's bound and splinted already, so it won't slow me down. Nothing to worry about."

She grunted in reply, then rolled off the rampart and stood in front of them. "Right, since you're here and I'm bored, let's get this show started! Who cares if it's a little early? My vile minions here," she jerked a thumb at the two Chunin, who grinned lazily, "are going to be 'monitoring'. Be nice, they won't be. Other than that, get moving, kids. You have until sunset to cross the Tora."

Raiden barely waited for her to finish before swinging out of the tower-top and onto the wall. Yohko and Mitsumi were right behind him, the three of them ghosting along. They were leaping up the walls in moments, resuming their usual marching order, and then into the trees.

------------------------------

Watching her three new students defeat the cliff face, Anko nodded to herself. Raiden was favoring his left foot ever so slightly. Beside her, Urashima muttered, "Never would've noticed, if he hadn't said anything. Damned impressive, for a new Genin."

"Whether he's actually injured or not," Anko agreed. At Urashima's surprised look, "Either he's got enough control to run with a broken toe like that, without flinching or slowing up, or he's a good enough actor to _pretend _to be that tough, and smart enough to show just enough trace to prove his claims of self-control. Have to have the medical squad check him over when they get back."

The three of them watched the kids vanish over the cliff-top, and she turned to her subordinates, "Right, boyos, you're to break them up, but only keep them from the river if they're alone, understood?"

"Oh, we get it, Mitarashi-san," Kaneda agreed, "We'll have 'em scattered all every which way but together. But I have to say, your niece is scary. I think the girl's a little... imbalanced."

"Ha, I _know_ she's imbalanced. Girl's crazier 'n I am. She's also still a kid." The grin got vicious, "Think you can't handle a kid, Kaneda-chan," followed by her tone becoming saccharin sweet, "or do you just want big bad Anko-sama to hold your hand?"

Kaneda shook his head, "How'd I ever get stuck with you for a boss? No, Anko-san, we can handle them. She's just scary. As in, 'what she may become' scary."

She laughed, then remembered her first meeting with the Genin. "Mitsumi, the 'scary' one, has a jutsu that lets her sense chakra. Keep that in mind when you're ambushing them." The two Chunin nodded attentively. "Get moving," Anko ordered them, departing herself a few minutes later by an easier road.


	3. 02 Tricks & Traps

**Rise of the Guardians**

By: Daishi Prime

- 2 – Tricks & Traps -

The three Genin made good time, initially. The top of the cliff was open, in the immediate vicinity of the village. The low mountain range and surrounding forest soon intruded, however, providing them with several options of travel route. Without stopping to discuss, the three decided to follow the cliff-line, as the surest navigational path.

"Mitarashi-sensei will be expecting that," Mitsumi countered, when Raiden settled on the route. "She'll have her boyos waiting."

"They'll be waiting on whatever route we follow," Raiden countered. "We can't loose them without violating ROE."

"Yeah, but we don't have to make it easy for them."

"We won't," Raiden promised, "ROE may limit our options, but we still have options. I'll keep point, anchor the line of travel. You two, scissors pattern behind me."

"Which of us cross the river?"

"You two, of course. Only way I'll get any time away from you."

"Teme," Mitsumi muttered back.

They traveled as fast as possible, pushing to save as much time as possible before Anko's inevitable interferences began to delay them. The trees here atop the cliff were smaller than those in the forest proper, with less water and nutrients, but still impressive enough to provide them with any shinobi's preferred route – tree-branches.

Raiden estimated they were a third of the way to the river before Mitsumi whistled. The sound was low, wouldn't carry far, but the three separate patterns were quite distinct. _One person, fifty meters behind, closing_. He nodded acknowledgement of the signal, but did not stop. His hands flickered behind him, using the hand signals they had begun using amongst themselves.

The Chunin came up fat and happy, charging up behind them without slowing. Yohko and Mitsumi separated slightly for room, and Raiden grinned as the Chunin came in after him, ignoring the two girls. He landed from his last leap, and began to lunge into the next one, relaxing his legs at the last second so that, instead of leaping forward, he swung clear of the tree-limb in a controlled fall. Allowing momentum to carry him forward, he rolled in the air, and launched a pair of kunai at the startled and thoroughly airborne Chunin.

Ranged work was not Raiden's forte, but he was far from the worst in his class. So he knew as soon as the blades left his fingers that the throws were ragged, but respectable. Any of his classmates would've been pulling at least one out of an arm. But the Chunin, anonymous now behind a cloth mask, merely twisted in mid-air, letting one kunai flash past, catching the other with an extended arm. The rotation continued as Raiden touched down, and then it was his turn to dodge as the knife came whistling back at him.

The Chunin hit the trunk of the tree Raiden fell out of, but his incipient ground-ward lunge was converted into a dodge of his own. Yohko was the smallest of the three, which merely made her faster as she spun around the trunk, legs together and feet aimed square at the Chunin's midriff. He hit the ground rolling, which got him clear of Mitsumi's fan of shuriken, and came to his feet against another tree.

For a few moments, the four of them stood there, watching each other. The Chunin had his back to a tree, far enough out for movement but too close for his three opponents to get behind him. Mitsumi crouched to his left in a tree, more shuriken in her hands. Yohko, also still on the high ground, was empty handed, but her fingers were already twined halfway into a seal. Raiden, on the ground directly in front of the Chunin, also empty handed, was the first to break the tableau.

"Steel blizzard. I start, Yohko finishes. Go."

Two more kunai flashed, arrow straight and level, followed closely by Raiden himself. Mitsumi's shuriken coming from above limited the Chunin's options, but still gave him plenty of time to drop and roll to his left. He was on one knee when Raiden arrived, blocking a sweeping kick to the head by the simple expedient of grabbing the younger shinobi's ankle. Raiden smiled, knowing the Chunin expected the traditional rotation. The man's off hand was already shifting to block it. Instead, Raiden dropped his weight straight back and slammed his foot into the Chunin's gut, just beneath the reinforced vest. The kick had little power, but even the strongest man has little muscle in the area.

The Chunin coughed up his previous breath, let go of Raiden's leg and attempted to move backwards. He stepped right into Mitsumi, who slammed onto his back from above, slipping her arms beneath his, and cupping her hands behind his head before he could recover. Between the grip on his head, the legs keeping him from getting his breath back, and the sudden appearance of a kunai before his eyes, he patently decided to play it safe, and froze.

"Impressive," he muttered roughly round Mitsumi's hold.

"Keep your pants on," Raiden replied. "Yohko, you're up."

She stepped in front of him, checked his breathing, then smiled, "Sorry about this, but we've got a deadline." She brushed away his forehead protector, placed two fingers over his eyes, formed a string of seals quickly with her free hand, then jabbed three fingers against his forehead, just as Mitsumi let go. He was unconscious before he hit the floor.

"Three hours," Yohko stated, "It's possible a Genin could have learned that seal well enough to keep a Chunin under for three hours. Barely."

"Good enough," Raiden answered. He started to turn, then looked back to Mitsumi, "What?"

The quizzical look on her face was aimed at the unconscious Chunin. "Why didn't he break free? He should have been able to, why didn't he?"

"They're testing us, Kitsune," Raiden answered, "He probably wasn't expecting to face all three of us at once, and wanted to see what we would do with a prisoner. Come on, he won't be happy when he wakes up, the longer it takes him to catch up, the better."

They resumed their traveling, taking to the trees again. The same formation sufficed, Raiden leading while the others swung back and forth behind him. He angled closer to the cliff line, trying to limit the number of directions they had to watch at once. For another hour, they made steady progress, passing the halfway point without incident.

The next interruption came without warning. One minute the three of them were charging along with a clear line of travel, the next, a blue and green figure was standing on the underside of Raiden's target branch, clapping his hands slowly.

Raiden almost botched his landing, but managed by dint of wild maneuvering to land on his feet, unfortunately on the ground. Yohko and Mitsumi retained their higher altitude, but also came to a halt. All three of them had kunai in hand and fell into guard before they'd even fully recognized the threat.

"Congratulations, Genin," the Chunin commented, hanging upside down from the branch, "Urashima should've split one of you off already. Got lucky, eh?"

Mitsumi was staring, but Raiden noticed she was not facing directly towards him, sightless eyes merely aimed in his general direction. "How'd you get there! Why can't I..." She managed to keep from blurting out any more, but only just.

The Chunin grinned, looking over at her. "You don't really think Anko-san would send us after you without telling us your capabilities, do you?"

"He's suppressing his own chakra," Raiden said, "letting out just enough to hold himself on the tree."

"Teme," Mitsumi muttered, "that's cheating."

The Chunin shrugged, "All's fair in love and war, and that's more true for the exams. So, what are we going to do now, hmm? I'm perfectly willing to stand here and chat for a few more hours, say, until sundown? I'd love to see what you kids know about the finer points of culture. I saw a wonderful play the other day..."

Raiden tuned out his voice, considering. The Chunin was the center of their arc. With Yohko and Mitsumi still in the trees, he could run interference and let the other two get to the river. But there was still a lot of distance to cover, and they hadn't run into Anko herself yet.

"We'll take him," he said aloud, drawing a surprised look from the Chunin. "Hammer and Tongs, Mitsumi's the striker."

Yohko lead off, following a pair of kunai. The Chunin let go of the branch, dropped half a meter, and vanished just before the kunai would have struck. Raiden checked his own rush, then ducked and rolled aside as something swept through the space he had occupied. He checked the roll a meter to his right, then lunged further as the seal left in his footprint hissed. It exploded a moment later, showering him with debris, but he was clear of the blast.

Unlike their first opponent, this Chunin wasn't standing still. Raiden came back to his feet against a tree, in time to watch both Mitsumi and Yohko make strikes, at two separate targets over ten meters apart. _He's doing this without chakra,_ Raiden though, amazed, _just training. But he can't be everywhere._ "Backs to the wall," Raiden ordered, spinning around the tree he was against and reaching the cliff edge in two bounds. With their back to that, the Chunin would have only one direction to approach from.

Mitsumi was there moments later, throwing the last of her shuriken in a wide fan to cover Yohko's retreat. Raiden watched Mitsumi's landing with part of his attention, scanning the forest. Something caught his eye as Yohko hit the last tree, and he grunted as if something had hit him in the gut. Yohko saw it as well, but too late, already out of contact with the tree in her last leap, she had just enough time to curl up in a ball as the exploding seal on the back side of the trunk detonated.

The cloud of smoke and blast enveloped her for a second, but Raiden didn't wait, just reacted. Yohko shot out of the cloud, propelled by the explosion higher and farther than she intended, and part of Raiden's mind recoiled in sick horror as she sailed clear over the cliff edge into open air. Most of his attention was calculating angles, judging distances, and then he was airborne himself, with nothing below him but two hundred meters of open air.

------------------------------

An hour past sunset, Anko finally returned to the river's edge. She was tired, not from the two runs back and forth to Konoha, but from worry. Kaneda was still where she had left him, forming the contact point for the search. Anko came up, and raised an eyebrow at her subordinate.

"Still no sign of them," Kaneda answered the unspoken question, "but Urashima found another kunai, below the first one." Kaneda had found the first kunai himself, buried in a crack in the cliff-face, ten meters of wire hanging from it. "This one had fresh wire-scoring all over its ring, but no wire. It was too deep in the rock for him to dig it out."

"You think they took it with them?"

"Unless someone's cleaning up after them. I'm starting to think that. There are still a lot of Sound ninja out there, and they aren't happy with Konoha. A trio of injured Genin would make a handy prize."

Anko shook her head, "Sound aren't that good, not good enough to get them right out from under your nose, this close to Konoha."

Kaneda nodded slightly, "I was right behind them, going over. But you know searches have never been my best skill. That's why I'm twiddling my thumbs here playing relay."

"Relax, Kaneda," She ordered, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder, "I know you feel responsible, but Urashima and Tana are better at finding things that don't want to be found."

He nodded again, but whatever he was about to say was cut off by a distant poumpff and flash of light. Both ninjas spun in place, dropping into stance, then relaxed as they saw the cinders from the red flare falling over the forest. "Found 'em," Kaneda said, and ran into the woods. Anko considered for a few moments, then nodded and ran after him.

Minutes later, they dropped into a clearing to find Urashima facing off with Raiden and Yohko. It took Anko a second to realize that Raiden was carrying Mitsumi on his back, the more so since he still managed to have a kunai in hand. Anko landed between Urashima and Raiden, then stood there, waiting until he relaxed, moving his weapon-hand back to support Mitsumi.

"Urashima, report," she ordered, still watching Raiden. He was obviously tense, still on guard against the older shinobi. When Tana arrived a moment later, he and Yohko both shifted position to bring the fourth adult into their arc of vision. Anko noted the way they moved together, dividing the threats between each other, with approval. She also noted that Raiden and Yohko were both sporting a number of bruises and Yohko was favoring her right leg and side.

"Ma'am," Urashima dropped to knee and hand, head bowed. "I was scouting up here along your back-trail, as you requested, while Tana continued the search along the bottom of the cliffs. I found the three of them thirty meters north of here, making their way towards the river. I informed them of the search, however they attempted to evade. I launched a flare, and then held them here until your arrival."

Anko quirked an eyebrow at her Genin, "You attempted to evade? Why?"

"We assumed it was part of the exam, Jounin," Yohko replied.

Kaneda couldn't contain his shock, "Part of the exam! You fell off a two hundred meter cliff, and you think it's part of an exam! Spirits, girl, we thought you'd been killed!"

Yohko blinked, slowly, "As Mitarashi-san stated, the only rule was to cross the river by sunset. Anything else was possible. Better to err on the side of caution and go for a win than to give up at the first mishap."

"The exam is over," Anko stated, chopping out a hand to cut off Kaneda's continued rebuke. "Now comes the debrief. How did you survive the fall?"

Raiden answered, "The blast stunned Yohko. I caught her a few meters down, and planted a kunai with wire attached into the cliff wall. The wire snapped on tension, but slowed us enough for Mitsumi to catch us. Her wire held, long enough for us to land on a ledge, about half way down."

"Injuries?"

"I have several fractured ribs and a minor concussion. Yohko sprained her right ankle and wrist, and may have some fractured ribs."

"And Mitsumi? Why is she unconscious?"

Raiden's face twisted into an interesting mix of expressions. A desire to remain silent was plain as day, but warring with a need to obey an order. There was more, annoyance, chagrin, and a surprising amount of pride, but she could not determine what was causing them. Finally, he said, "she's not unconscious, merely asleep. She exhausted herself to get us this far."

Anko raised an eyebrow, "And how _did _you get this far, Raiden? I know I went through here not half an hour ago, I should've detected you easily, as injured and tired as you are."

The same argument played itself out again on his face, the traces subtle but there. "Mitsumi's forte is stealth, Mitarashi-san. Her sensory technique is an outgrowth of that, more than her blindness. She used one of those techniques to cover all three of us, first on the cliff when Kaneda came over it, again later whenever we encountered a Chunin. If you hadn't come along, she probably could've gotten us to the river."

Urashima interrupted, "You do realize it's an hour past sunset, right?"

The two kids gave him a withering look. "Yes, we are aware," Yohko answered, "We realized three hours ago that we would not reach the river before sunset. At which point we decided to see how long it would take us. We also figured there would be someone waiting for us, and it would be polite of us to let them know when we got there."

"Stupid kids," Anko muttered, "you're that badly injured, you turn around and head back, clear? You keep moving with a concussion," she stabbed one finger at Raiden, "or a sprained ankle," the finger twitched to Yohko, "and you'll make the injuries permanent. I don't care how good your self control." Yohko nodded, but Raiden merely shrugged. Anko glared, "Don't ignore me, Genin. So long as you're under my charge, you'll do what I tell you, clear?"

"We aren't under your charge," he answered easily. "It is after sunset, and we are on the wrong side of the river."

She blinked at him, surprised he could be that obtuse, and then broke out laughing. Kaneda and Urashima chuckled a little as well. When she got her breath back, she asked, "Do you know what the real difference is between a successful Chunin and a dead Genin?" They considered for a few moments, and she could almost hear them discarding the obvious choices of power and skill. "Teamwork," she answered for them, "the ability to function as a team, to surrender personal success and survival for those of the group. Far as I'm concerned, you passed the test when you went over that cliff together."

Yohko was giving her an incredulous look, "That's it? You were testing our teamwork?"

Raiden snorted, "Waste of a perfectly good day."

Anko returned Yohko's look, but asked Raiden, "Sorry?"

"The three of us have been friends for most of our lives, Mitarashi-san," he told her, "along with three others. We've been a complete team for four years now."

Yohko stepped closer and held out her left hand, palm up. In the faint moonlight, Anko could see a faint tracery of scars. "We swore a blood-sib oath last year on the anniversary. That's why Raiden doesn't care for the current team assignments – he agrees with Hyuuga-sensei that we need to try working with other people. We're so used to each other's habits and abilities that we don't even need to talk about some things anymore."

Urashima grunted, "Cheating bums, that's what the 'steel blizzard' crap was – an attack pattern you kids already had figured."

"We've come up with several set piece maneuvers," Raiden replied, then he grinned, "If you think it was bad with the three of us, you should see what six of us are like."

Anko asked, "What teams are the other three in?"

"Team eight, with Kakashi-san," Yohko replied immediately, "All three of them."

"I'll have to talk to him. What anniversary?"

Yohko blinked at her, "I'm sorry?"

"You mentioned that you swore your little oath 'on the anniversary.' What anniversary?"

The girl actually flushed, and glanced aside at Raiden. He returned the look with a scolding one of his own, and said, "You let it slip, Yohko, you explain it."

Anko almost lost it when she stuck her tongue out at him, "Baka. The anniversary, Mitarashi-sensei, is that of our parents' deaths. Kuma's mother and older brother, my father, Juubei's and Mitsumi's mother, Rumiko's father and both of Raiden's parents were killed in the Sand attack during the Chunin exam four years ago."

"Orochimaru," Anko snarled, remembering that disaster. Then she got a hold of herself, "that's a rather unpleasant memory, isn't it? Why call it an anniversary, why mark it out?"

"We aren't obsessed with vengeance, if that's what you're worried about," Raiden answered, seemingly amused at the thought.

"Just in doing our best to prevent it happening again," Yohko added. With a calm Anko was already beginning to associate with her, she explained, "Everyone has a mission in life, some task they dedicate themselves to. This is ours, and what happened on that day is what caused us to realize it. So we mark it as an anniversary, a day of remembrance."

Anko was quiet for a few moments, considering. Having a trio of Genin who defined their lives by their parents' deaths concerned her, yet the answers they were giving and, especially, the tone those answers were delivered in, were reassuring. _Time,_ she decided eventually, _I need time to get to know them. And I need to talk with Kakashi._ "Right, good enough then. I'd planned to camp out here, but I'd rather get you kids back to the medical squad soonest. Kaneda, take Mitsumi..."

Raiden cut her off, by the simple expedient of tensing and bringing the kunai still in his hand back to guard. "_I_ carry Mitsumi," he said, practically snarling.

Kaneda, already stepping forward, checked and spread his hands, glancing at Anko. For her part, Anko glared at Raiden, then stepped in and snatched the blade out of his hand. "Baka! Kaneda can get her back to Konoha a lot faster than a fresh-meat Genin like you."

"I will carry my sister," Raiden answered, matching her glare for glare. "You wanted to test our teamwork, well this is what teams do. I don't trust those two any further than I can throw them, and no one I don't trust touches my sibs when they're this out of it."

Yohko stepped up beside Raiden, "We will carry her, Mitarashi-sensei. We carried her this far, we will carry her home."

Anko raised an eyebrow, then nodded. "All right then, we'll see how far you can get. Fair warning though, kid. You drop my niece, I'll take it out of your hide."

He smiled at her, "Mitarashi-sensei, if I drop her it will be because I am dead." He ignored the kunai she was still holding, turned and leapt up into the trees. Yohko moved a fraction of a second later, following close behind him. Anko gave them a few moments, then waved her Chunin after them.

"Definitely too much like work," she muttered to herself, before following.


	4. 03 Revelations & Secrets

**Rise of the Guardians**

By: Daishi Prime

- 3 – Revelations & Secrets -

Once her charges were safely in medical hands, Anko co-opted a table in the Konoha hospital's cafeteria, to enjoy a midnight snack. The long day of searching, followed by what was, by her standards, a slow jog back to the village had left her ravenous. The trail rations she had had during the day were good enough, but nothing like 'real' food, even real hospital food. The relative peace and solitude of the meal also gave her an opportunity to reflect on her new charges in detail.

The return journey had gone both faster and slower than she had expected. Raiden and Yohko kept up what had to be a grueling pace, moving faster than she had expected, and keeping it up longer. It had gone slower than she expected, because the two never stopped. She had expected to carry them most of the way back, moving as fast as she and her Chunin subordinates could move, but the two kids had refused to drop. Raiden had apparently even thought he had enough energy left to fight, for when they reached the hospital, it had taken a lot of conversation and some interesting allusions from Yohko to get him to pass Mitsumi to a pair of nurses. They had still been conscious when Anko left them in the care of other nurses.

Of the three, Raiden concerned her the most. Partly, it was because of his pre-existing position as leader. He may have done well as a 'leader' when the kids were in the academy, and in the day's test, but Anko had seen too many others in that role crack when put under the real-world pressures of a leader of shinobi. On balance, she had seen others excel and thrive under the pressure, and she could not tell yet which of the two Raiden would be. Mostly, however, there was something unsettling about him, a sense of detached threat, which bothered her. He reminded her, unpleasantly, of Sasuke as a Genin – quiet, skilled, brooding and dangerous. She would have to watch him carefully, and see that certain others were made aware of his potentials.

When she turned her attention to Mitsumi, she found herself smiling. Anko had not had as much time for her brother's family as she would have liked, but she was familiar enough with them to have long since realized that Mitsumi was very much like herself at that age, all spunk and energy and no discipline worth speaking of. The girl obviously had a ready sense of humor, and had demonstrated the greatest skill of the three, if she had truly managed to cloak herself and two others for as long as she had. But there had been that flash of feral amusement in the tower, the predatory look. Anko knew her own temper, and recognized it in her niece. Rubbing her neck, where the damage of her own temper still burned, Anko thought, _I'll have make sure she learns self control. Wonder if Raiden's been trying? Should I help him, or do it myself?_

Next, she considered Yohko. Of the three, Yohko concerned her the least. She was small, which would put her at a disadvantage in physical combat, but she had a self-possession that rivaled Raiden's without evincing his detachment. That calm and control would help her compensate for size, and allow her to learn new techniques more easily. Anko could easily believe Urashima's report of the seal the girl used to bind him for a time, even if it was more complicated than an academy Genin should know. She could also be a good foil for Raiden's attempts to control and direct the team, except she seemed perfectly willing to follow his orders. The only time she had argued with him had been when they reached the hospital, when he had clearly not been thinking straight.

Taken collectively, and despite her desire for a relaxing couple of years, she was surprised to find herself rather pleased with her new Genin. They had potential, were obviously dedicated and hard working, and while they had their pride, it was a collective thing, the sort of team pride which she was supposed to encourage. In fact, as she sat polishing off her food and thinking, she could only find one thing to mar the prospects of an interesting future – the three of them were quite obviously hiding something, something they thought was seriously dangerous. Anko was half tempted to pass it off as typical childish over-reaction to some embarrassing experiment, but the three of them had demonstrated a most un-child-like judgment so far.

She was deep in thought, but not so deep she failed to notice when someone came into the cafeteria searching for her. She looked about, finely honed senses locking on a side door, where a tallish woman in a black kimono was looking around, studying faces. The woman's face was hesitant and uncertain looking, but her entire stance was loose and confident, almost aggressive.

Anko did not hesitate, but waved her over, "Shizune! Over here, girl! Grab a chair and park it." When the other woman arrived, and pulled out a chair, Anko leaned back and asked, "So, what are you doing here at this kami-forsaken hour? I'd've figured you'd be sleeping by now. Gotta keep up with the Hokage, ne?"

Shizune nodded, face growing more uncertain, if that was possible. "I was, Anko-san," she replied, "but I got called in by one of the medical ninjas. They had a case that they didn't think they could deal with, but didn't want to disturb Tsunade-sama, so they sent for me. Ah, actually, it's three cases, your Genin."

Anko blinked, then rocked forward, reaching across the table to catch one of Shizune's hands. "What? What's wrong with them?" She didn't wait for an answer before cursing, "Stupid kid! A 'mild concussion' my..."

"No, no," Shizune said, stopping her incipient rant, "Their physical injuries are fine. The worst was Iraisen Yohko's ankle. Minor sprain, but she used it too harshly after it was injured, despite the splints. She'll be using a crutch for a couple of weeks. No, there's something else wrong. The medical nins called me because, while they were checking Kodachi's concussion, they found something strange. He's hemorrhaging chakra, badly. It's a very rare occurrence, it normally happens when someone has damaged their life gates, and there are a few _very_ uncommon poisons that can cause it. There are techniques for stopping a chakra hemorrhage like that, but none of them worked on Kodachi. I have some of the staff setting up a sealing, but at the rate he's going, he should have died already. They checked the others, Iraisen and your niece, and both girls have the same condition. I thought, initially, that they must have encountered something out there, a poison plant.

"There's two things, though. Mostly, like I said, they should have died by now. At the rate the chakra is pouring out of them, they should have burned off the minimums necessary for life hours ago. Yet they're still going, still alive, and seem to be generating new chakra at the same rate they're burning it off."

She paused and pulled out a slip of paper from a sleeve. "The second reason is this. I was going to show it to Tsunade-sama, in the morning since I don't think the kids are in any danger." She unfolded the paper and slid it across the table. "That seal is on the back of Raiden's right hand. I had to make it bigger, my writing isn't that good. I'm afraid seals aren't my specialty, not non-medical ones anyhow, and I don't recognize that. There are few elements that I recognize from chakra-healing seals, and I think it's related. Do you recognize it at all?"

Anko took the slip of paper and held it in the light. It was seven centimeters on a side, and filled edge to edge with sigils. The outermost was a ring of sigils, seals familiar to all shinobi. Inside of that, separated by a plain black circle, was a set of four complicated seal-groups, followed by another ring of plain seals. Inside of that was a yet another set of seals, and Anko felt the blood drain from her face as she recognized it.

She had to force herself to remain calm, taking a few seconds to run through a simple breathing exercise. Then she looked up and around, scanning faces. She found Kaneda, and crooked a finger at him when he looked up. He and Tana arrived at her table a moment later. She held her voice calm and kept her tone quiet, "Kaneda. Find Hatake Kakashi, tell him to bring his new Genin team here immediately. Tana, go to ANBU headquarters, I want a team here immediately watching my Genin, and a second team to locate and retrieve Team Eight. Have them brought here. Make sure Kakashi and ANBU are aware of their orders. Shizune, Wake the Hokage." She spread the sheet of paper out on the table, tapping the central seal, "That is the seal of the Shinigami, the one the Fourth used to bind the Kyuubi. Whoever did this to the kid is powerful, and dangerous. Keep that in mind."

Kaneda and Tana turned without a word and left. They had long since learned to trust her orders. Shizune, however, was confused. "Anko-san? Why now? They are asleep, and in no more danger..."

Anko cut her off with a glare, "Just do it, girl! Whatever it is, that seal is deadly dangerous, and I have no idea how it got on one of my Genin. Get the Hokage. Now."

------------------------------

Raiden was sitting up in bed when the Hokage arrived, back to the wall, legs folded in a lotus with hands resting on the knees. Mitsumi lounged in the window frame, wrapped up in a blanket, face turned outward over the night-shrouded village. Yohko was curled up asleep at the foot of the bed, also covered by a blanket. He watched as the Hokage strolled into the room, watched her carefully note the presence and positions of his sisters. She was obviously displeased, her normal frown more ferocious than normal, and he tensed for a fight.

She didn't speak, however, simply pulled the spare chair to the middle of the room and settled down in it, Shizune taking her accustomed place behind Tsunade's right shoulder. Anko and Kakashi also entered, moving to lean casually on either side of the door. Raiden had a brief glimpse of a cloaked and masked figure before the door was closed from outside. Yohko stirred at the entry, and woke, but remained curled up. Mitsumi remained where she was, the only sign of life a brief stretch of her neck.

For a few minutes, they all remained silent, Tsunade and Raiden staring at each other, the others watching the two of them. Finally, Tsunade asked, "What are they doing here?"

"They are my sisters," Raiden answered immediately, "we're more comfortable in unfamiliar surroundings together. Besides, when the ANBU showed up, we figured you would want to talk to all of us. We're just waiting on Juubei, Rumiko and Kuma."

"They're elsewhere," Kakashi told him, "Separated and remaining so, for protection."

Raiden quirked an eyebrow at him, then asked, "Who's protection?"

"Their's," Tsunade answered. "We have a number of questions for you, Kodachi Raiden, and you need to answer them honestly and as thoroughly as you can remember. Are you aware of the seal on your hand?"

He blinked, confused by her question. "Of course I'm aware of it, Hokage-sama."

"We need to know everything we can about who put it on you, and how. It incorporates some powerful, dangerous elements, and whoever is using it needs to be investigated."

He looked at her for a minute, blinked, then turned to Yohko, "I don't know if I should feel insulted or proud."

She chuckled, and shrugged. "Both, probably. How much do we remember?"

Tsunade's own eyebrows rose at that, but before she could continue, Raiden turned back to her and told her, "I need to talk with the others before I can tell you anything, Hokage-sama. There are limits to what I can tell you without their involvements."

The eyebrows rose higher, the eyes hardened. "What sort of limits?"

"Absolute limits. Until we've had a chance to talk it over, I can't tell you anything more than that there is something to talk about."

"Oh, that's bull, Raiden," Mitsumi interrupted, without turning from the window, "You can tell her anything you want. The others'll go along with it."

He turned to glare at her, "We agreed together not to talk about it, we have to agree together _to _talk about it."

"Kakashi, bring your team," Tsunade ordered, "I want this answered today."

"Thank you," Raiden said, as the masked Jounin slipped out of the room.

Several minutes later, Kakashi returned, following the three members of his new team. Raiden nodded to each as they came in, noting that the three of them had apparently fared better in their trial with Kakashi than he, Yohko and Mitsumi. The worst they had was a bandaged slash on Juubei's forehead.

"Hey, sibs, welcome to my throne room," he said, grinning crookedly. "I'd rise to greet you, but since there are three of you, I'm not sure who I should greet."

"Liar," Juubei muttered back, moving to lean against the same window frame his sister was sitting in, "you're just feelin' lazy."

"Probably faking," Kuma agreed, standing at the end of the bed. He raised a massive fist, "what say I whack him up side the head and find out?" Rumiko shook her head and pushed his arm down, before moving to stand in the corner by Mitsumi's feet.

"Not unless you want to wind up in traction, kid," Shizune interrupted, "he's got a concussion, all right. Shouldn't even be awake."

"Now," Tsunade commented, "Why don't you tell me about that seal?"

"In a moment," Raiden said, then tuned her out. He looked over each of his sibs, taking in their posture. They were relaxed, more so than he was, except for Mitsumi, and all were waiting for him. "Well, guys, you know what this is about. Say your piece."

"Tell them," Kuma rumbled, "all of it."

Yohko nodded, "I agree. It still needs to be secret, but we can't hide from Jounin, not in day to day contact, and the Hokage needs to know, now that we're full Genin."

"You've already blown our cover," Juubei said, "and I don't feel like living life on the run. Tell them and get it over with. Worst comes to worst, we run."

Rumiko nodded, left hand over heart in the seal of the Tiger, her personal gesture for truth.

"I say run," Mitsumi muttered. "They'll kill you, and exile us. Better to just run now, we're more likely to survive."

Raiden nodded to each of them in turn, even acknowledging Mitsumi's opposition. "All right then. I'm sorry, Mitsumi, but majority rules."

One hand waved negligently, "I knew that before they got here," she said, "but you asked for our opinion, so..."

"Thank you," he told her, and waited for her nod of acknowledgement. Then he turned back to Tsunade, and took a deep breath.

"Four years ago, each of us lost a parent in the Sound attack orchestrated by Orochimaru. You knew that, obviously, but that loss is the cause of our actions. As Yohko told Mitarashi-sensei, we still mark that day as an anniversary, every year. What she didn't tell you is how. We gather at the Dojo, and swear again the oath we took to each other. Essentially, to do whatever we must, to prevent such an attack from happening again."

"Arrogant of you," Tsunade commented, "you were what, eight, nine years old?"

"Arrogant, stupid, blinded by grief, all of that," Raiden agreed. "But we did it. We took the oath a few days after the attack, and then I took steps I thought necessary at the time to insure we would have the strength to fulfill our oath." He paused, trying to think of the best way to say it, then sighed and boldly stated, "so I snuck into the restricted library beneath Hokage Tower, and stole the Fourth's last journal." He ignored the shocked sounds, and continued, "we copied the journal out ourselves, and then I replaced it where it would be found without too much suspicion. After that, we spent close to a year studying it."

"I've read all his journals," Tsunade commented, "There's nothing in the last one but a collection of notes on the plant-life around Konoha. There are rumors of a code, of course, no one wants to believe the great Yondaime was that interested in common plants, but no one has ever been able to find one."

The six Genin chuckled, sharing a smile, before Raiden continued, "There is a code, Hokage-sama. But there is also a set of seals inside the cover. No one who has developed their chakra control beyond a certain point can ever decipher what's in that book. I'm fairly certain he did the same with the last couple of his journals. We were right at the edge of being able to decipher it, but when we copied it, we did _not _copy the seals. Didn't even know they were there until much later.

"Once we had the copy, we spent almost a year studying it. We did not understand than, and still don't, the underlying theories which drive the seal. But we did determine how to place it and what, in general, it was supposed to do." He paused and held out his right hand, palm down, staring at the complicated tattoo-like pattern on the back. "It is called the Seal of the Guard of Seven. Apparently, the Yondaime planned to place it on seven children and train them in its use, as a sort of enhanced ANBU, but died before he could do so."

"There are only six of you," Kakashi pointed out, "Who's the seventh?"

"We were six when we began this, and we have never found anyone we trusted enough to discuss it with. Well, there's one, but she wouldn't survive the seal." He shook his head, "this seal is dangerous in all respects, Hokage-sama. We figured out within a month how to place the seal, and could have then. But we didn't know what it would do, and spent almost a year arguing over whether or not to do it. Finally, I talked Yohko into putting the seal on me, as an experiment."

He fell silent, staring at the back of his hands, and drifted back, letting the memory take him. After a few moments, he continued in a flat tone of voice, "I held it for six days, fourteen hours and twenty-two minutes. Longer than any of the others. It started as a tingling, over my ribs. Spread down to my right hand. By the second day, it was this maddening itch, and the tingle covered my whole body. Third and fourth days were the same, only worse. The itch took over everywhere, and things started looking strange, washed out one moment and painfully sharp the next. Sounds and scents went strange the next day, the same way. Things got ugly on the fifth day, when my right hand started burning. Just heat at first, but it got hotter and hotter, spreading up my arm. I lost it by then, don't remember more than flashes except the pain. It felt like my arm was melting, then my chest. Finally, I held onto consciousness long enough that Yohko could help me to release the seal.

"That's the risk, see. Anyone can place the seal on anyone else, but only the one carrying it can release it. If you wait too long, you won't be able to hold yourself together well enough to release it, and it will kill you."

Tsunade blinked and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees, and her chin on twined hands. "The seal has already been released? Then it is dormant?"

Raiden rocked his head back and forth, "Yes and no. It's complicated, Hokage-sama, very complicated. The initial placement of the seal binds your tenketsu, sealing them and gathering your chakra in the seal itself. To get the full effect, though, you have to release it, the book says within a month, our experience says within a week. Once you release it, it takes the energy it has accumulated, and tears apart your chakra circulatory system, down to the most basic minimal elements. From there, it rebuilds you, along lines we don't really understand. Even after that, however, the seal continues to have some power. Again, we don't know all of it. The book is too complicated, and we aren't even sure if it contains everything.

"What we do know, is that we can't use traditional jutsus. We can fake them, that's what we've spent most of the last three years learning how to do, but we can't use them. The henge no jutsu, for instance, we do differently. We don't use our chakra to change ourselves, we form it around ourselves, like a cloak, and shape that into an illusion of the form we want." He grinned a little sheepishly, "I'm afraid we all cheated at the official Genin exam, Hokage-sama, but..." he held trailed off and made a tipping gesture with one hand. She nodded, then waved for him to continue. "There are other prices. Each of us has a slightly different seal, and each seal exacted a physical toll."

"Mitsumi's eyes, correct?"

Raiden nodded, "And my slow healing, Kuma's excessive size. Yohko hasn't grown an inch in three years, and it's been as long since Juubei felt an injury, or Rumiko spoke."

"In other words, we already paid a heavy price," Juubei interrupted, "and we're still paying it. We don't know when the changes will stop, if they ever will."

Raiden resumed, "the advantages appear to be manifold. We have more chakra at our disposal than is the norm, and apparently find it easier to manipulate. We haven't figured out how to perform any traditional jutsus the way they're supposed to be done," his face twisted slightly, a combination of amusement and consternation, "weird things happen when we try, ne Yohko?"

"Urusai, teme," Yohko muttered back, shifting deeper into her blanket, "I still say that was your fault."

Raiden joined in the others' chuckle, "But we have developed a few tricks of our own. In a lot of ways, they surpass what we should be able to do. Most obvious is physical enhancement, it's easier for us to boost our physical capacity than for other shinobi. In addition, we also each have a specialty, something we're just naturally good at. Mine is barriers. We haven't done any serious testing, but I can form a barrier tough enough to stop thrown kunai, punches, kicks, and at least once a collapsing tree." He glanced at Anko, and bowed slightly, "Gomen, Mitarashi-sensei, I wasn't entirely honest back in the forest. Mitsumi's wire held because it was just supporting her. I managed to wrap a barrier around Yohko and I before we hit the ledge, it took most of the force from the fall. 'Course, that's also what gave me a concussion, when it failed, but better than a straight impact would've been.

"As I've said, we understand enough of the seal's effects to control them, now. We knew going in that it was stupid, but the Third had just died, times were tense, and we had no idea what was being done to defend Konoha. We thought we had to do something, and this was what came to hand.

He paused for a moment, then added, "As a last point, do you know what the other kids at the Academy called us?" He waited, and when Tsunade shook her head, he smiled, "The 'Six Twins'. For four years now, we've gone everywhere together, done everything together. People just got so used to seeing us together that they named us the 'six twins.' We never called ourselves that, though. We'd answer to it, but it wasn't how we saw ourselves. We are Guardians, Hokage-sama. We exist to guard Konoha, against any threat we find, to the best of our abilities. It's just that our abilities are different from anyone else's."

When he fell silent, the room remained quiet. Everyone was waiting for the Hokage to speak, to make her decision. For Raiden, the signing tension was almost unbearable. For four years, they had dreaded the moment when they would have to tell their superiors what they had done. Now, the moment was here and he literally had no idea how this tough old woman would react. She had demonstrated, over the years, that she could be as tough as old leather, cold as northern ice, when it came to her duty as Hokage. That was one of the things Raiden most admired about her. But he had no idea what her sense of duty would require of her now.

She remained silent for several minutes, face set in its typical slight frown, eyes unreadable. She looked at each of them, one at a time, patently condsidering them individually. Finally, she said, "I knew something was strange about the six of you before the Genin exam. Hyuuga Hinata discussed her entire class with me, when she took over, and when we determined the team assignments, and the six of you were too close to believe. No group of kids stays that close for that long. Now I know why, and that knowledge does not fill me with confidence. Quite the opposite, as your story, actions and attitudes bring to mind rather unpleasant episodes in the recent past. On the other hand, Hinata was quite insistent in her good opinion of you. So, tell me, what do you think I should do?"

Raiden asked, "Honestly?" When she nodded, he immediately told her, "you should cut our throats right now." She blinked and leaned back slightly, eyes wide in surprise.

The others chuckled, and Juubei elaborated, "We are dangerous, Hokage-sama, very dangerous. Our powers are untested, unknown, and unpredictable. We've demonstrated, in the past, a volatile combination of recklessness and skill both beyond our years, and Raiden's openly stated that we suffer from on obsessive compulsion. In your shoes, Raiden would have us executed, immediately."

"There are reasons to keep us around," Yohko allowed, "benefits to Konoha, and personally we think they outweigh the dangers we represent to Konoha. But you have nothing to judge us on save the opinion of a teacher we successfully deceived for two years and our own testimony. In your place, we wouldn't leave someone like us alive. From your perspective, we are simply too dangerous and untrustworthy."

Tsunade listend to the arguments, nodding slightly. "Fortunately for you," she said, "I am not in the habit of executing my shinobi for stupidity. I also doubt you would be willing to lay down and die, since you aren't _completely _insane." she sighed and pushed herself out of her chair, "I will make a permanent decision on your fates in one month. Until then, Anko, Kakashi, you will take these delinquents of yours in hand and push them to their limits. Find out what they did to themselves, whether it can be _un_-done, and what that seal allows them to do."

She strode to the door and threw it open, then stopped and looked back over her shoulder. "You've kept it secret this long, punks. Keep it secret longer. No one is to know except the ten of us, until I make my decision. And Anko, get that book of theirs. I want to read it myself."

------------------------------

Once they were alone, the six genin sighed as one, tension flowing out with the breath. For a few moments, they simply looked at each other, grinning or chuckling as the impulse took them, visibly relaxing. Rumiko slid onto the windowsill beside Mitsumi, and Kuma settled into the chair Tsunade had used. Juubei simply slumped to the floor, crossing his legs and tilting his head back.

"Well, that was anti-climactic," Yohko complained, "I thought she'd chew us new assholes, at least."

"Saving it up," Mitsumi predicted, "She'll tear our heads off in a month, probably. Once she really knows what we did."

"Sooner," Juubei said, half-agreeing, "Couple of weeks, at most."

Rumiko kicked her teammate, just hard enough to knock him over. One hand flashed through a series of signs, Baka, no need to fear the Hokage.

"She's right," Raiden said. "If Tsunade was going to execute us, she would have done it immediately. She knows the worst, all that's left is details, and those are no worse than the generalities."

"Unless there's something in those sections we couldn't follow," Mitsumi countered.

"True, but unlikely," Raiden argued, "everything we have been able to figure out points to the Seal being the biggest thing in the book. There's no reason to study us if she's going to execute us. No, she's buying time to do exactly what she said – determine what we can do."

"And how to tell the rest of Konoha about us," Yohko added. "That's going to be a hard sell. Especially since I bet the ANBU outside heard it all."

"ANBU won't talk though," Kuma countered, "not after that order to us to keep it secret. They'll keep it close until she makes it public. If she makes it public. Hokage-sama may decide to keep us secret forever. Think what Akatsuki, or Orochimaru could do with that book. That's why we gave it to Rumiko to hide in the first place."

"They think Orochimaru's dead," Juubei countered.

"But not Akatsuki. And there are other groups out there, other villages that could make as much use of the Seal as Konoha."

"Regardless," Raiden interrupted, "we've got a month of leeway. Rumiko, please retrieve the book in the morning."

She nodded, fingers flashing again, no problem. On the way to the Dojo.

Raiden nodded to her, then turned to Juubei. "Juubei, start working on an evac plan. Two major types – first, if I'm wrong and the Hokage decides to execute us. Plan to get as many of us as possible out. Second, if the Hokage decides to exile us, even if it's just for show and not fact, it'll be better if we've got a plan to get out quietly and quickly."

Juubei shrugged, "already done, brother-mine. I've got some caches of non-perishables hidden outside the village, I'll stock 'em with trail-rations and the like over the next couple of weeks. I could use Mitsumi's help to keep it quiet, though. Up for a little sneaking around, sis?"

"Sure, think you can make less noise than a drunk elephant this time?"

"Tcha, think you can actually hit a target with those shuriken I keep making for you?"

"Children," Yohko murmured, "save it for the morning."

Juubei grinned, Mitsumi stuck her tongue out at Yohko, but they stopped arguing. Raiden continued, "Other than that, best bet for now is to get some rest. Anko and Kakashi will probably give Yohko and I a day or so of leeway, the rest of you are going to have to start working immediately. We'll try to get out of the hospital as soon as we can, but you'll have to do the initial demonstrations. Try not to burn to Dojo down, we can't afford to rebuild it, yet. Now, get some sleep, Guardians. We're going to need it."


	5. 04 Capabilities & History

**Rise of the Guardians**

By: Daishi Prime

- 4 – Capabilities & History -

Anko arrived early the next morning, just after sunrise. Watching her stride into the room, Raiden noted the continued presence of the ANBU outside, and her check as she scanned the four sleeping and one conscious Genin waiting for her. One eyebrow quirked, and then she leaned back out, and whispered something to one of the ANBU. The masked shinobi twitched, then leaned around the door himself to scan the room.

Raiden grinned, sensing the shinobi's eyes widen with surprise. "No one left, Anko-sama," the ANBU stated, "no one."

"Find her," Anko orderd, "Now. Bring her to the kids' dojo, ne?"

"Rumiko had an errand to run," Raiden explained. "Mitsumi helped her slip out last night, she'll meet us at the Dojo."

"There's an ANBU out there," Anko object, waving at the window, "as well as here at the door. How'd she get out?"

Raiden cocked his head at her, and shrugged. "Dunno, wasn't awake. Mitsumi and Rumiko pulled it off between them during Mitsumi's watch. She told me when it was my turn."

"Watch?"

"Unfamiliar terrain, possibly hostile. Seemed safer to have one of us awake at all times."

"Paranoiac."

"Yup," Raiden agreen readily, "and proud of it. In all honesty, Rumiko would've had to disappear at some point today to get the book. We kept copies of the more obtuse parts at the Dojo, but had her hide the only complete copy someplace no one would ever find it."

"I'd've thought Mitsumi would be better for that, what with her stealth specialty."

"I talk too much," Mitsumi muttered, stretching as she woke, "Rumiko'll never tell anyone a secret."

"Oh, I think I could get her to take me to it, if given enough time."

"Torture would work, eventually," Raiden agreed, "but not quickly enough. Chances are her hands would be bound, and that would eliminate any ability to communicate. Without that, even if someone broke her, they'd have no way of knowing."

"Granted, in general," Anko said thoughtfully, looking over the others as they woke, "although I can think of several ways around that." She stopped and made an exasperated sound, shaking her head vigorously, "Damn, you kids are good at changing the subject! Didn't the ANBU make it clear that you were to remain here? One of them would have gone with her to get the book later today, if it isn't in the Dojo."

"Sure, but Rumiko'd never let anyone follow her there. Wherever she hides things, she keeps it a secret, from everyone."

"Little pack-rat still owes me an earing," Mitsumi muttered.

"You lost that fair and square," Juubei countered, yawning slightly, "don't go blaming Rumiko for your crappy memory."

Anko clapped her hands for attention, "So she's running around out there alone, and none of you know where she is?"

"Somewhere between here and the Dojo," Raiden said. "That's what she told us last night when I asked her to retrieve the book. She'll probably be waiting for us at the Dojo."

"Us?"

"Mild concussion, sensei. Not worth taking up a bed in the hospital over." His grin turned sour, "The medical nins ordered me yesterday not to use any chakra until they tell me, and to come back in a week. Unless Tsunade changed those orders on her way out, I'm free to go. Yohko, too, though she's got crutches," he pointed to the two objects lying on the floor.

"Hmph, so I get to ride heard on all six of you kids. Great. Well, come on then, let's go find your missing friend."

Rising to his feet with the rest, Juubei asked, "What about Kakashi-sensei? Shouldn't we wait for him?"

Anko laughed, "Kid, Kakashi might be on time for his own funeral. If whoever kills him holds it right then and there. He'll catch up, whenever he gets around to it."

------------------------------

The walk to the Dojo was a long one, across most of the village, with ANBU ghosting along the rooftops and alley-ways in parallel. A third of the way to the Dojo, Yohko managed to wheedle a ride out of Kuma, and turned what should have been a serious discussion into an extended opportunity to reduce Raiden and Juubei to impotent rage. Anko found herself to be rather impressed by the girl's ability to manipulate both 'brothers', even if it prevented her from beginning to build an idea of the kids' individual natures.

The Dojo had been built on a plot of land right up against the wall, where the Sand's giant snake had crashed through four years ago. The building was narrow, but deep, filling its small plot of land completely save for a small porch. It reminded Anko of a small warehouse, more than anything, simple and plain, with a peaked roof and straight walls made of plain wood. The only windows she saw were small, one in the door and two beneath the eaves, and the door itself was barely large enough for Kuma.

Rumiko was, indeed, waiting for them at the Dojo, sitting on the split-rail fence, feet kicking leisurely. Standing in front of her, maybe a meter away, was the ANBU Anko had dispatched, arms crossed over his chest, foot tapping. She looked up as Anko noticed her, and waved to her fellows, smiling brightly and completely ignoring the ninja standing over her.

She waited for them to close, then bounced off the rail, hands flickering in front of her. Anko blinked, half recognizing certain shinobi signs, then blinked again when Raiden and the rest chuckled.

"He's just doing his job, Rumiko," Raiden said, giving the ANBU a once over, "Apparently we weren't supposed to sneak you out last night." Rumiko made an exasperated sound, then her hands flashed again, short and sharp.

"Wait," Anko said, snapping up a hand to cut off Raiden's next comment, "what was that?"

"Rumiko's mute," Juubei reminded her, "that's an adaptation of the hand signals we're all taught. Just more... generalized."

"A larger vocabulary," Yohko corrected, "her mother worked it out after Rumiko's seal was released."

"And you all speak it?"

"We all understand it," Yohko countered. "Raiden can't form the signs to save his own life," she ignored his indignant rebuttal, continued, "and neither can Kuma. The rest of us are fair to middling, though not as good as Rumiko."

"Great," Anko muttered, "yet another thing I'm going to have to learn. Stupid kids, why can't you be slackers like everyone else your age?"

"'Cause then you'd be bored, Baa-chan," Mitsumi called from the front door, "shall we get started?"

"Watch your mouth, Chibi-ko," Anko called back, "and boredom's underrated. ANBU, do me a favor and find Kakashi. Tell him where we are, then... wait." She stopped and turned back to the Genin. Rumiko was standing less than a meter from her, holding out a plain leather book, grinning like a kitten in catnip. Anko sighed, snatched the book, swatted Rumiko on the head with it lightly, then held it out to the ANBU, "then take this to the Hokage, keep it shut."

"Ma'am," the masked ninja replied, before vanishing.

"Now," Anko said, turning back to the building, "show me this 'dojo' of yours."

------------------------------

The inside proved to be both more and less than she expected. There was more than just a training floor she would have expected from a dojo. However, this was also listed in Raiden's file as his residence, and in that respect it was far less than it should have been.

Almost the entire interior of the building was open, from the door to the back wall some forty meters away, from the floor to the peaked ceiling six meters up. Support columns three meters in from each wall defined a central area, covered by a raised pattern of tatami mats. The long walls were covered with open closets, shelves, and drawers; the shelves and closets filled with dummy targets, practice weapons and sparring pads of all types. Half the back wall was taken up by a stove, refrigerator and limited counters, an obvious kitchen, and the other half was the only solidly separated area in the building, presumably the bath. At the top level of the wall, cross-beams separated the area beneath the roof from the lower level, and six sections of that upper space were screened off by light shoji panels. While there were places for both candles and lights, the only current illumination was from the windows in the front wall, and a string of sky-lights in the roof.

Most curiously, the ring of columns, and their connecting cross-beams, were lined with kanji seals. She almost walked past them, the black ink blending with the darker wood of the beams, but caught herself and spent a few moments examining them while the genin fanned out through the building. She recognized the pattern of seals almost immediately, as that used in the special holding cells, reserved for the strongest of shinobi prisoners.

Raiden was speaking before she even stopped, looking the place over with obvious pride. "Yohko's mother helped me build this place, with what I inherited from my parents. The location made it cheaper, no one wanted to live right under where the sand-snake came through, not at the time, and we scrimped a little on ammenities. All the plumbing's in one wall, for instance, and as close together as we could arrange it. Less digging to connect to the village water and sewer, less work to get through the walls, less pipe, and so on."

Anko looked up from studying the seals, quirking an eyebrow, "I hope this place isn't going to fall down around us?"

Raiden smiled and thumped his fist into one of the support columns. "Solid oak. Each beam's a single piece, set into a concrete footing. The cross-beams and major roof columns are the same. The Dojo'll outlast us by a long shot."

Anko nodded, then gestured to the seals, "And these?"

"We got tired of heading out to the remote training grounds to practice. Yohko and I managed to copy the prison seals, and adapt them to the different dimensions of the Dojo's practice ground. And, to alter the trigger requirements. The barrier will seal off this central section against anything but light and minimal air, but requires someone outside to constantly maintain it."

"Bit of a step down from the prison seals, ne?"

Raiden grimaced, "I don't like the idea of a barrier I can't control. Especially not if one of my sibs is inside it. So we didn't build in the whole set of seals. That made it easier to set up, anyway. The trigger-point is in the back, at the central column. I can demonstrate them..."

He was cut off by a bundle of cloth striking him in the back of the head. Looking over him, Anko saw Rumiko standing on a cross-beam in front of one of the shoji-enclosures, dress held up by one hand. Her other hand was raised, a single upright finger ticking back and forth while she glared at Raiden.

"Listen to her, Raiden," Yohko said from inside another screen. "No chakra for you until the medic-nins clear it. Which is next week!"

"Fine, fine," Raiden agreed, throwing whatever it was back to Rumiko, who disappeared. "Heavens help me, they're worse than a mother," he muttered.

Anko chuckled, then tilted her head. "You live here, right?" At his nod, she gestured at the various enclosures, and asked, "What about them?"

"They moved in the other day. Well, they've been mostly 'moved in' since the place was built. We all hung out here after school, when we weren't off in the woods training. When we all passed the Genin exam, they just made it permanent."

She gave him a disbelieving look, "And their parents allowed this because...?"

That superior grin showed up again, "Who says they're allowing it? Rumiko's mother has been trying for four years to get her to stop having anything to do with us. Mistumi's and Juubei's parents are almost as bad, though they don't actively dislike us, they just think Mitsumi & Juubei should 'get out' more."

"And Yohko's & Kuma's families?"

"Yohko's mother is probably the most supportive of the six of us. She's a shinobi herself, and for some reason seems to like me. As for Kuma's father, we're the only ones in our generation studying his particular style of martial arts, so he puts up with us."

"What style would that be?"

"Ryu-jutsu, the Form of the Dragon. It's basic forms and stances are simple enough that we can all adapt to them, and adapt them to our different ninjitsu. Sato-sama insists he will teach us the more advanced techniques, but we haven't had time, between the Academy and recovering from the Seal."

"Understandable. Kakashi and I will be focusing on the Seal, but how you use it to enhance your taijutsu will be a significant part of that." The others were gathering, now, changed into obvious workout clothes, worn and patched. "So, why don't you have a seat, and let me see what your fellow delinquents are capable of, ne?"

Raiden nodded, walking over to one wall, settling on a bench halfway down the room. On his way, he ordered, "Yohko, raise the wards, please. Mitsumi, keep an eye out for Kakashi-sensei. Juubei, coordinate within the ring – try to keep it simple, but the Sensei's in charge."

Anko watched him go, then turned a serpent-like gaze on Juubei. "And why would I need you to... 'coordinate'?" Partly, she was impressed by Raiden's immediate assumption of authority. Mostly, however, she found herself annoyed by that presumption, and curious as to how her nephew would compromise.

He shook his head, "You're as paranoid as an alley-cat, Mitarashi-sensei. You've only known us for a couple of days now, except for Mitsumi and I. You don't really know Rumiko of Kuma at all."

The barriers rose while he spoke, and Anko felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise at their strength – strong enough to distort vision and sound beyond the ring before any effect was directed at them. Juubei gestured at one pillar, the lines of seals glowing a slight blue, "We treat this place as open ground, anything goes. Eventually, I'll show you a technique called 'Thunderbolt', Kuma will show you 'Fist of the Earth Dragon'. Either one'll blow through these barriers fast and hard, 'less Raiden's holding them."

That was a surprise, considering the power evident in the barriers, and she couldn't help blinking.

"I'm not going to tell you what we won't do, Mitarashi-sensei," he continued, "I'm just going to make sure the right person answers your questions, and that the barriers don't collapse. We always have an extra in the ring, a referee, for just that purpose."

"Good enough," Anko agreed. "So, let's begin with the Henge no Jutsu. Slow as possible, I want every detail of how you do it."

"Rumiko," Juubei said, gesturing her towards the center of the ring, "begin."


	6. 05 The Sensei & The Students

**Rise of the Guardians**

By Diashi Prime

- 5 – the Sensei & the Students -

Four days after her class dispersed, Genin one and all, Hyuuga Hinata diffidently tapped on the Hokage's door for the third time. Tsunade, Godaime Hokage, intimidated her as no other woman, and few men could. Even now, she only had greater difficulty speaking with Neiji, her father and Naruto. The masked ANBU standing silent guard across the hall did not help matters, certainly not now that she had discovered Neiji was amongst their ranks.

"Come!" The order was sharp, clear, and impossible to disobey. Hinata found herself through the door and closing it gently before she fully considered the action, and sighed internally at her still-jumpy nerves. "Ah, Hinata-chan. You have questions regarding the book I asked you to read?"

She turned and bowed to the desk beneath the windows, "H… Hokage-sama, I finished it, l... last night." Because her gaze was downcast, she almost missed the flicker of surprise, but her eyes were good even without the Byakugan, and she continued, "it was very i... interesting."

Tsunade pulled a book out from beneath a stack of papers, centered it in front of her, then leaned back in her chair, folding her hands in her lap. "Interesting, was it? Have a seat, Hinata-chan, and tell me about it."

Hinata flinched at the idea of sitting in the Hokage's presence, but an order was an order, and the Fifth was much less formal than the Third had been. Still, her girlhood training rebelled as she settled onto a small chair in front of the massive desk. "It... it was the Fourth's, was it not?"

"Yes. A copy, of his last journal. What did you think of it? I never thought the man was so into plants. The section on the Lotus Flowers was quite involved."

Hinata blinked, surprised by the Hokage's comment, "Ah, H… Hokage-sama, the entirety of the book is encoded, a... a s... simple reference-substitution code." She blushed, at the intimation of inadequacy on the part of such an august person.

Tsunade chuckled at her discomfort, causing the blush to deepen. "I know that, Hinata-chan." She tapped the book in front of her, "I read the original, however, and it has one critical difference from the copy I gave to you. It was sealed against decoding. I spent all of last night pouring over the journal, attempting to twist meaning from the text. All I got was a simple primer on Konoha's plant life, and a simple discussion of what differentiates plants from animals. You, I gather, found something rather different?"

"Ha... hai, Hokage-sama," Hinata replied uncertainly.

Tusnade waited a moment, then quirked an eyebrow impatiently, "Well, Chunin, what did you find?"

"Ah, gomen, Hokage-sama." Summoning up the detachment that had let her lecture to her class, Hinata explained, "The journal details the Fourth Hokage's discovery of a method to, ah, alter and restructure the inner coil. If it worked, it would rebuild the shinobi's inner coil to allow for a much higher concentration of chakra. I... I am uncertain of the specifics, but it appears to flood the shinobi's entire body with chakra simultaneously, and create a sort of overpressure. I imagine it would be very painful, and dangerous, but it would allow the shinobi to make much more... blatant... use of their chakra. Like a hose, if water is allowed to simply flow through, it can move so much debris from a path, yet if put through under pressure, it can carve away the beaten earth of the path itself. There is more, I did not understand it all, variations on the basic seal which would alter the – I do not know the words, the flavor? The style? – of each bearer's chakra."

"Hmm, yes, we've already noticed differences in the effect of each seal," Tsunade murmred, obviously deep in thought.

Hinata shifted slightly, as Tsunade revealed that bit of information, and hypothetical possibilities began assembling around it. "Ano, Hokage-sama? Who was this seal used on?"

Tsunade twitched, then glared at her again. "Who says it's been used?"

"Y... y... you did, Hokage-sama," Hina stammered softly, "'we've already noticed differences in the effect of each seal.' It could only be placed on a shinobi, not an object. Gomen nasai, I was overly curious."

Tsunade waved the apology away, muttered something under her breath, then asked, "Tell me something. Did you ever used the Byakugan in your class?"

"Ah, on occasion, Hokage-sama," Hinata answered truthfully. "For some of the more difficult lessons, with the children who had the most trouble with them. I... I do not like to... use the Byakugan... frivolously."

Tsunade snorted, "Frivolous my... left foot. Hinata-chan, using something as powerful as the Byakugan to insure your students learn well is not 'frivolous', nor is it beneath the dignity of the Hyuugas. Quite the contrary, Hyuuga cannot stand without Konoha, and Konoha will not stand without new young shinobi of the highest quality. But you only used it on your past class for those who had difficulty with a jutsu?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

"Hmm, never Kodachi Raiden or his friends?"

Hinata blinked, then shook her head. "No, Hokage-sama. The Twins were always good students. Ah, as we discussed before the Genin exams? They are not geniuses, but very hard working, and they tended to assist each other with problems before I did." She hesitated, and blushed again in embarrassment, "Ah, I am afraid I tended to let them be. They were quite tight knit, withdrawn, and... letting them help each other gave me more time for others who had more difficulty. They... they used this seal, didn't they? All of them."

"Why do you assume it was all of them?"

"Th… They did everything together, Hokage-sama. With something like this... if one of them tried it, all six of them would have. Probably Raiden first, Mitsumi or Juubei second, the others after them."

"Hmm, very good, Hinata-chan," Tsunade complimented her, "Raiden was first, followed by Mitsumi and Yoko, then Juubei, Kuma and finally Rumiko."

Thinking back on what she had read, on what it said would happen to the shinobi using the seal, Hinata blanched. "Hokage-sama, when? When did they do it? They have to release the seal, soon, or the build up of chakra in it will do them permanent damage..." She was half out of her seat, fear for her students driving her. She ignored the small voice in her mind shouting, _they're not your students anymore!_  
"Relax, Hinata-chan," Tsunade ordered, "they did it to themselves before you ever became their sensei. Precocious little brats placed _and_ released the seals three years ago." She leaned forward, steepling her hands over the book still closed on her desk. "Tell me, Chunin, what your opinion of them is now, knowing that."

Hinata's voice was a whisper when she asked, "Three years?" Tsunade nodded, and Hinata felt the shock ripple through her. _Three years! They did this before I was their sensei. The entire time I was teaching them, and they were so powerful, so skilled? Neiji is right, I am blind. Blind and foolish!_ Kurenai's training came to the fore, before she could descend in a spiral of self-doubt and self-blame, turning her emotions to fuel her analysis of the mistake, and Hinata sat silently for a few moments, thinking.

She knew she did not understand what was in the book well enough, not after a single reading, but what she knew was enough. From what she had seen of them in her two years as their sensei, what she knew of their personalities and habits, strengths and weaknesses, and what she had read over the past days, she assembled a picture of six new Genin quite different from the one she had held when she entered this office.

When she looked back up at Tsunade, her voice was surprisingly steady. "They will surpass us all – ANBU, Neiji, the Sanin, the Hokages, all of us," she stated clearly. "The skill, willpower, and sheer strength necessary to learn to control this seal's abilities, while also learning how to perform the basic academy lessons as well as they did... the Twins will surpass us all. Probably soon."

"Are they a danger to Konoha?"

Hinata blinked at her in surprise, then shook her head slightly. "On this, I have no doubts. Sarutobi-sama was more dedicated to Konoha's safety, Hokage-sama. No one else is. They may overreact or misinterpret, as anyone can, and Raiden, especially, will kill without thinking first. But a danger to Konoha in and of themselves? Never."

Tsunade was silent for a few moments, and Hinata began to shift under the steely gaze. Finally, she said, "You realize how much confidence and authority you just spoke with, Chunin?"

Hinata twitched, blushed and hung her head. "Ah, g... gomen, Hokage-sama, I did not..."

"Urusai," Tsunade cut her off, "It's about time you started showing some spine. You're better than you give yourself credit for. As furtherance of that, I'm assigning you to assist Kakashi and Anko. The 'Twins' are currently demonstrating their capabilities for their Jounin, and Kakashi appears to be unable to follow them with his Sharingan. I want you to join their little study-group.

"Anko is in overall command, Kakashi is her second, you will be her third, but I will expect a separate report from _you_, in which neither Jounin is to have any input. Use the Byakugan, Hinata-chan, as much as you can, and compare what you see now to what you saw of them in the Academy. I need to know exactly what these brats are doing, and what they are capable of. You will get me that information.

"They are training at Raiden's dojo, do you know where it is?" When Hinata nodded, Tsunade continued, "Be careful, I've got an ANBU team rotating watch. They're expecting you. Take the book with you, the copy. Study it further, match it's predictions to their reality. You have less than a month to reach your conclusions, Chunin. Your report is due with Anko's."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

"Go, go," Tsunade muttered, waving at the door grandly, "I've _far_ too much to do today without having you cluttering up my office! Out!"

------------------------------

Hinata found the Dojo easily, backed up against the village wall as it was. She had known where Raiden lived, of course. She knew where all her students lived, and Raiden's personal arrangements had been strange, the more so that he was officially a ward of Iraisen Yuri, and she had approved the arrangement. Still, this was the first time Hinata had been given cause to visit Raiden's home.

She found the outside plain, but solid, even with a cloaked ANBU crouched at a corner of the neighboring building. Studying the door frame, however, she took note of the pattern of seals around it, basic wards, un-powered but ready. She knocked, loudly, but judging from the lack of sound within, she thought they were out somewhere, training.

To her surprise, the door opened even before her hand reached her side again. Standing in it, stripped down to hakima pants and headband, was Kodachi Raiden. They stood for a second in the doorway, he inside, she out, blinking at each other. Then Raiden visibly collected himself, and bowed. "Hinata-sama," he said, "welcome to the Dojo. What may I do for you?"

"K… Kodachi Raiden," Hinata replied, slightly confused by his form of address, answering his bow with a precisely metered one of her own. "Hokage-sama requested that I assist Mitarashi-san and Hatake-san in your training." She held up the book, and watched his eyes widen. "I am aware of the unique situation."

He was nodding before she finished speaking, and stepped back, waving her in, "Please, enter and be welcome, Hinata-sama."

She was more impressed with the inside of the dojo, especially when she caught sight of the live barrier. She stopped cold and simply stared at the shimmering wall, beyond which blurred figures moved too rapidly to follow. The distortion was quite apparent, a chaotic mixture of interfering rings and points of light blue over clear. "Like water on glass, in a rainstorm," she whispered, reaching out to touch the distortion unconsciously.

The hand the clamped down on her wrist caused her to jump and gasp with surprise. The grip was iron hard, and had moved as fast as a striking viper, but she could already tell it would leave no bruise. Looking up the arm, she found Raiden glaring at her. "Please don't touch the barrier, Hinata-sama. Your description is quite accurate. On the other side of that barrier, each point is a small amount of chakra striking and being absorbed, or a physical object or sound being reflected. What happens on this side is rather more violent, we've found."

He let go of her wrist and stepped back, bowing in slight apology, and gestured toward the side of the building. "Kuma is holding the barrier in the rear, he can signal those within that you have arrived."

She followed Raiden around, down the long side of the dojo, noting the placement of various practice dummies and blunted weapons, broken up in several separate sets of shelves and drawers. Six smaller sets were interspersed with the practice weapons, filled with functional weapons of differing types, and she smiled as she noted the favorite weapons of each Twin in a different set. The differences were slight, as much numbers as weapons, but clear enough to her.

Around the back, she found several chairs set in front of a small tile-floored kitchen area, and standing with one hand on the center pillar in the section, back of his hand covered by black ink, was Kuma, stripped down to hakima pants like his friend. Even at sixteen, Hinata knew she would never be big, but Kuma was huge, especially up close and stripped down. "Asuma-san isn't that big," Hinata muttered to herself, considering.

Raiden chuckled ahead of her. He looked back over his shoulder, and said "Actually, Asuma-san is bigger. Slightly." He stepped close to Kuma and murmured something.

The big Genin looked over Raiden's head at her, then smiled and nodded, "Hinata-sama." He turned back to the barrier, and she gasped slightly in surprise as she _felt _him manipulate the chakra of the barrier somehow. "Hinata-sama is here," Kuma stated loudly, "Anyone care for a break?"

She could not hear the answer, but a moment later the distortion wavered and faded out as Kuma removed his hand from the column. Standing within the ring, the rest of the Twins were similarly stripped down to basics, like Raiden and Kuma. They were already moving towards benches set up inside the barrier, and for a few minutes nothing happened save the distribution of water and toweling off of sweating bodies. To Hinata's surprise, Kakishi was one of those sweating, and both his eyes were un-covered.

Finally, the Genin settled themselves out, mostly sinking to the tatami-mat floor of the training area, while Kakashi found a convenient pillar to hold up, and Anko co-opted one of the few actual chairs in the place. Hinata found herself standing against one wall, next to Anko, half trying to disappear into the wood as eight pairs of eyes stared at her with varying intensity.

After a whispered conversation with Anko, the older woman nodded and waved, "Well, kids, we've got a new jailer for you reprobates. Be nice. We'll take five, then see what she can see, ne?"

Hinata was trying to think of something to say when a dark mass flashed before her face, causing her to flinch back. She didn't realize it was Mitsumi until she hit the wall. The younger girl, grinning like a cat as she hung upside down from a crossbeam, "Ne, ne, Hinata-sama? Will you teach us Jyuuken? Please? I bet I can do better than Neiji-teme."

Inwardly, Hinata cursed her own timidity as she tried to stammer a reply, "Ah, I..."

Something hit Mitsumi in the back, and the girl yelped as she lost her hold on the beam. She rolled, as catlike as her smile, and landed in a crouch, rubbing the back of her head. A few meters away, Raiden gave her a withering look, "Jyuuken's proprietary, Kitsune, no non-Hyuuga can learn it. More importantly, you're making Hinata-sama uncomfortable. Back off, Chibi-ko, give her room."

"Oi, why's she rate that?" Anko asked, "I'll have you know I'm a Jounin. If you're gonna be all respectful, it should be to me."

Raiden shook his head, and answered, "Sorry, Anko-sensei, but you're just... not respectable. Hinata-sama's a _lady. _ You're just ba-chan." He caught the flying glass easily, but Anko was laughing, to Hinata's surprise. The older kunoichi turned to her and 'whispered' loudly, "they're a bunch of disrespectful punks, but you get used to it. It's the smell that bothers me, no guy should smell that girly in the morning."

Yohko joined in the banter, "And which of us present likes to put rose petals in their pillow?"

"Kakashi," Anko answered promptly.

"Hmmm, did someone call?" Kakashi looked up from his book, one eyebrow raised. It quirked oddly when everyone laughed, then he sighed and returned to important matters. From behind the pages, Hinata heard, "at least I don't suck my thumb, Anko. You still use that pepper, ne?"

"Urusai! Baka! You're supposed to be supportive of your superior in the face of rampant dissent in the ranks."

Kakashi glanced up again, looked at the ring of grinning faces around him, then back to Anko. "You're team's the only one mouthing off. Mine are perfectly behaved little angels. Aren't you?"

"Less formal than you were expecting, aren't we," Yohko said quietly as the round of insults continued. Hinata jumped again, slightly. She hadn't even noticed the girl moving to stand beside her.

"Ah, yes," Hinata replied. "I... I knew Hatake-san and Mitarashi-san were... relaxed. But..."

"We're home," Yohko explained, "and after the last couple of days, we've found that this works better for demonstrating what we can do. More time doing, less time explaining. It's not that hard, just like in class."

From the other side, Anko joined in, "Don't let the attitudes fool you, Hinata. These kids of yours're damned hard working. Their idea of a 'light convalescence' is ridiculous. Even that flaming idiot Gai, doesn't push himself this hard." Her tone became aggreived, "I'm getting tired just watching the little brats."

"Ah, they have been very dedicated since I knew them," Hinata agreed, carefully.

"We have a purpose, that's all," Yohko countered, "Nothing special in that."

"Humph, just the age at which you're displaying your obsessions," Anko countered. "You're supposed to be old and decrepit before you get this badly off." She shoved herself out of the chair and stalked into the ring. "Right, enough lazing about. Juubei, take the barrier. Yohko, keep him and Raiden company. No sparring! I noticed you're favoring that ankle again, I'm not letting you fake your way out of another few weeks training by claiming to have re-injured it. Everyone else, up and at 'em."

Hinata followed the rest, uncertain what, exactly, she was going to be expected to do. She soon found herself parked in a corner, with orders to simply watch, as much as possible. From the looks of things, as the others settled out, Kuma and Rumiko were going to watch as well, while Mitsumi sparred with Anko.

When she sank into a lotus, Kakashi squatted next to her, putting away his book, to her surprise. "Be careful, Hinata-chan," he advised, "they put out a lot of chakra, even at rest. I've had my Sharingan flash-blinded once already, with your Byakugan, I'm concerned the effect could be worse."

"C... can you follow what they are doing?"

"Hmm, a little," the masked ninja allowed, "but not well enough to copy it. It is strange. At the basic level, they are still molding chakra, just as you or I. Yet, I cannot seem to follow even the most basic of their manipulations." He raised a hand, palm up, "eh, what can I say? It is different, strange. Perhaps your Byakugan will fare better. Just take care."

"Hai, sensei," Hinata whispered back, returning her attention to her students.

As Anko and Mitsumi began sparring, she formed the seals, quietly activating her family's blood-line limit. The world shifted, compressing and altering strangely as her perceptions expanded rapidly. Then she focused, bringing all her attention to bear on one subject.

She started with Kuma. Unlike her cousin, she was still unskilled at locating the tenketsu, but she _could_ locate them eventually. She chose Kuma because he was standing still, unlike Mitsumi, and had always struck her as stronger than Rumiko. So she began with him, figuring he would be the easiest to study.

She thought she had understood what the notes in Yondaime's journal meant. They spoke of a constant out-flow of chakra, overpressure releasing to keep the seal-bearer safe. She had expected a constant flow of chakra to make finding the tenketsu simpler, clearer.

Kuma's were certainly easy to find, and the flow of chakra was certainly steady. It was also no steady flow of overpressure, but fountains of energy pouring out and dissipating. The cause of the barrier's distortions suddenly became quite clear, as she watched that river of power flowing. It swirled around him, a chaotic cloud of blue light, just below the levels of visibility to the normal eye. Streamers and tendrils of it flew outwards, occasionally, arcing about him to interact with the environment around him. Most of them followed his gaze, intent on the sparring match between Anko and Mitsumi, more stretched to Rumiko a few meters behind him. Several even swept around Kakashi, and even herself. Tracing the full pattern, she found that eventually, the chakra around him simply faded, dispersing invisibly into the surrounding world.

"That's amazing," she whispered, knowing she was staring and unable to help herself.

Kakashi looked away from the fight, "Hmmm? What's amazing?"

"So much power. Where is it all coming from?" She pulled out the journal by feel, still entranced by the sight of Kuma wreathed in chakra. Once it was out, she managed to pull her attention away, and Kuma retreated from her primary focus.

For a few moments, she again simply observed, as Rumiko and Mitsumi became clearer. Around each of them, she could see the same pattern of swirling chakra and tendrils of power. Mitsumi's was the most blatant display, a wild chaos of expansion and contraction as she shaped the flow to aide in her battle with Anko, but even Rumiko's was active. Watching the three of them at once, she got another surprise, as the tendrils of power from all three blended together. _Ohh, Anko-san isn't fighting Mitsumi,_ she thought, _she's fighting all three of them._

"Say again?"

She twitched, unaware that she had spoken aloud, and turned her attention to Kakashi. Briefly, she explained what she had observed so far, and explained, "Kuma and Rumiko are sending chakra to Mitsumi. I don't think it's conscious, it's too – chaotic – for that. But I don't doubt the chakra is carrying information and at least some strength to Mitsumi."

"So they are stronger together than apart, hmm? More so than usual? Interesting."

"But where are they getting all that chakra? Excuse me, Kakashi-sensei, I need r… read." She turned part of her attention back to the Genin, and most of it, finally, to the open book in her lap, and began flipping pages rapidly. Internally, she felt a small glow of satisfaction. This was something her cousin could not do – read with the Byakugan activated. He claimed it gave him headaches. The one thing she enjoyed with the Byakugan was her ability to read entire pages at a time, turning a rapid skimming of a book into a thorough read.

Now, she used it to flash through coded page after coded page. It still took her quite some time to locate the section she wanted, and longer still to realize that, far from answering her questions, the text merely added to them. It referenced each of the sub-seals, the keys which differentiated the seven, and made it quite clear that those sub-seals determined where the extra chakra came from. But there were no details, no specifics. In some ways, it sounded remarkably like the summoning contracts Naruto-kun had described to her. But in others, it sounded more like what little she knew of the curse seals Orochimaru had utilized to such terrible effect.

After almost an hour of pouring over the text, she finally gave up, relaxing her tense shoulders and letting the book fall closed. Turning her attention outward again, she considered Kuma sparring with Anko. As before, the three Genin in the ring were linked together by tendrils of their chakra auras, though to her surprise Mitsumi's was just as active as it had been during her match.

Steeling her courage, she called out, "A... Ano? Anko-sama?" The Jounin flipped away from Kuma, signaling a pause, and quirked an eyebrow. She was breathing hard, but Hinata could tell the woman was far from tired. "I... ah... have a suggestion?"

"Sure, Hinata-chan, what's up? Want a round yourself?"

"Oh, n... no, not that," Hinata said. That damned stutter. She had lost it in front of her class, but it still dogged her outside the Academy. It took a conscious effort, and a determined stare at Anko's feet, instead of her face, to get out, "Ah, would you be willing to try sparring with all three at once?"

"It would be interesting," Kakashi murmured, "To see if their unity of thought extends to unity of action."

Anko looked at him quizzically, "You fought your three at once already, Kakashi, in your test, yes?"

"Without the Sharingan," he countered, "or Byakugan. Give it a try, Anko. Worst they can do is beat you."

She snorted, then waved at Mitsumi and Rumiko. "All right, kids. Let's see if your sensei's crazy or not."

"Two minutes, please," Hinata asked, "I... I won't need more than that."

Mitsumi grinned at her, "I think we can keep Ba-chan from falling down for two minutes, Hinata-sama. We'll have to go easy on her, but..."

She was interrupted when Anko swatted her upside the head, "Aho! Get in stance!"

Hinata tuned out the resultant conversation, and even tuned out the fight as it began. She focused all her attention on the three Genin, on their chakra, as they moved to encircle Anko. As before, each was surrounded by their own halo of energy. Now, however, the tendrils which had connected them were stronger. As she watched, Anko was surrounded by a net of chakra even more thoroughly than by the three Genin. Mitsumi's frenetic energy, Kuma's steady solidity, and Rumiko's quiet flow merged and mingled, balancing each other.

Vaguely, Hinata was aware of Anko's actions. The Jounin had far better control over her chakra, and was blatantly making better use of it. But the trio's combined power was greater, and gave them a unity the Jounin was hard-pressed to match. Power thrust back and forth, swirling about the combatants madly, but always Hinata could see that interlocking pattern of auras.

Two minutes to the second after they began, Kakashi called out, "Time!" Rumiko and Kuma froze in place, and Anko used the respite to pin the airborne Mitsumi to the floor. All four of them were panting with effort, and even Anko was sweating.

"Incredible," Anko complimented after a moment, hauling Mitsumi to her feat. "I haven't had a fight that tough in a while."

"You weren't using any high-level Jutsus, Anko-san," Kuma said, "had you done so, thing would have been much simpler."

"Neither were you."

"We don't know that many," Mitsumi replied, "just enough to fake the basic Academy lessons."

"Ano? Anko-sama? They have plenty of power, but not control. What I saw just now, it feels... instinctive. Like breathing, steady and strong, but ragged and inefficient."

"Just like Genin are supposed to be," Anko said, nodding slightly.

Rumiko slapped Mitsumi upside the head, and then her finger's flashed. Mitsumi grumbled back, "yeah, yeah, you told me so."

Watching the exchange, Hinata asked, "T... told you what, Mitsumi...-chan?"

The blind girl, rubbing her head, shook her head, "Power or not, we're still just Genin. Though why everyone wants to hit me for thinking different..."

Kakashi posited, "Hmm, perhaps, your winning personality?" It was impossible to see behind his mask, but Hinata could tell he was smiling at Mitsumi.

"Tch, urusai, teme. San." That earned her another whack, from Anko.

"You mentioned high-level jutsus, Kuma," Kakashi continued, "Would you care to demonstrate?"

"Yes, Kakashi-san, but not here." He rocked one hand back and forth, "We have not really tested the barrier, not seriously."

"Juubei mentioned a Thunderbolt?"

Kuma grimaced, "Raiden's strongest. Bloody dangerous. That we will never try in here."

"It's _intended _to punch through barriers," Mitsumi explained.

"One of the training grounds, then," Kakashi allowed. "South four?"

Anko nodded in agreement, "It's remote enough, no one goes there except for Academy survival training. Shall we?"

------------------------------

South Four was one of the most distant training grounds maintained by Konoha. Half forest, half plain, it was maintained simply for the advantage of that distance – it was too far for bored students to skip survival training, and even with eager students, it removed the comfort of having the village near to hand. It was far enough that, even leaving Yohko and Raiden at the Dojo, it took them close to half a day to reach the training ground.

Even after they reached the training ground, passed over its fence, and verified that no one else was there, Anko kept the group moving. It was well past mid-afternoon before she found a place she was comfortable with, open enough to let them train, with too little cover for anyone to sneak up on them.

There, she and Kakashi left the Genin to catch their breaths, while they scouted. Hinata, far less winded than the kids but still glad of the respite, sank into a lotus and resumed studying the book, still striving to understand where the seemingly endless supply of chakra in her students came from.

She had been reading for only a few minutes, when something niggling at the edges of her consciousness dragged her attention away. Looking up, she blinked, looking at each of the four Genin, then asked, "Why are all surrounding me?"

"Keeping guard, Hinata-sama," Kuma rumbled, standing directly south of her. "Raiden wouldn't like anything to happen to you."

"And given that your attention was totally on the journal," Mitsumi added, "we figured you'd have a hard time watching yourself."

"Ah, I would think I am capable of defending myself."

"Raiden would pitch a fit if we took a risk with you, Hinata-sama. Justifiably. Better safe than sorry, anyhow."

"Why would he be upset?"

The four remained silent for a few seconds, then Juubei shifted, "You are our sensei. Like Oraka-sensei, you taught us much, and we regard you highly for it. Oraka-sensei is dying, and we will mourn his passing, but that merely makes preserving you more important. You are our sensei."

"I am touched, but..."

"Let them have their fun, Hinata-chan," Kakashi said, appearing out of nowhere, "better that they feel protective rather than murderous, ne?"

"Area's clear," Anko added, also seeming to materialize. "Shall we get started?"

Juubei asked, "What are you looking for?"

"The Thunderbolt?"

He shook his head, "None of us. Raiden's the only one who can pull off the Thunderbolt properly. Each of us has their own high-end technique," he pointed to himself, "Thousand Leaves," the finger shifted to Mitsumi, "Cloak of Light," Rumiko, "Blood of the Immortal," and finally to Kuma, "Fist of the Earth Dragon. Cloak of Light, you've already seen, as much as anyone does. Blood of the Immortal is useless, unless someone is injured."

Anko raised an eyebrow, "Thousand Leaves?"

In answer, Juubei smiled and pulled out a kunai. He stepped away, and paused for a moment, blade vertical before his face. Hurridly, Hinata activated her Byakugan in time to watch his aura of chakra swirling around him, focusing brightly around the kunai. A moment later, he threw the kunai, a hard fast snap of his arm, snarling, "Thousand Leaves!" It left his hands a single glowing kunai. A meter from his hand, it was three, then nine, then almost thirty. More and more blades appeared, glowing copies of the original, until over a hundred slammed into the nearest trio of trees, shredding branches and bark.

He turned back, sweating slightly, "I can do that, at that level, maybe three times. I can do one maybe twice that strength once. None of the individual blades are any more effective than a normal kunai, but so many of them are very difficult to dodge. Mine is a strike against multiple opponents, I can take out three or four people to Raiden's or Kuma's one."

"Impressive," Kakashi murmured, "fast, strong, wide area of effect." He turned to Kuma, "Fist?"

Kuma nodded, stood up himself, and began walking, heading away from the forest. Watching, Hinata could see the chakra swirling, concentrating around his arm and shoulder. He made no gesture, simply walked until he was a hundred feet away. Then, in one motion, he dropped to one knee, called out, "Fist of the Earth Dragon," and slammed his fist into the ground. The chakra, swirling with hurricane speed, spiraled down his arm in a wave, all of it blasting into the ground as his fist made contact.

The ground exploded, blasting up in a cloud of debris and ringing out a thunderous explosion. The earth shook and she could see the chakra emanating out from the impact point through the ground, causing it to ripple and crack. When the sand finished pattering down around him, and the cloud settled enough to see him, he was still sitting in the three-point stance, head down, at the bottom of a four foot deep crater, that was over thirty feet across. Finally, he stood and turned, striding slowly back to the group. He stopped a few yards off, and repeated, "Fist of the Earth Dragon. Intended to obliterate a single target. I can do it once, maybe twice if I don't want to stay conscious."

Kakashi stepped out and looked over the crater, then turned back, "Is it ground-strike only?"

"No, Kakashi-sensei," Kuma answered, shaking his head, "but the ground provided the best target. Hard to miss, easy to see the effects, minimal harm to the surrounding environment.

Kakashi raised his uncovered eyebrow, and asked, "What is the Thunderbolt like, then?"

"A different approach, for a different problem. Raiden's strike generates a visible packet of chakra, which detonates on impact. He claims to have created it to defeat his own barriers. Raiden is the only one who can generate it, and he has only used it twice that I've seen, but I don't know anything that could survive being hit by it."

"If he hits," Anko allowed, "that sounds rather like Kakashi's Chidori, which is pretty enough, but too difficult to use for my taste."

Juubei smirked at her, "Thunderbolt is just that, Anko-san – a bolt." He held out his hand to one side, fingers curled slightly inward. Hinata could see the chakra collecting in front of his palm, and had to cover her eyes against the flash when he let go, fingers snapping wide. The packet of chakra leapt from his open hand, rocketing into a tree faster than any kunai, where it detonated. The explosion gouged out a half-foot crater in the tree, showering broken bark and splinters over a small area. "My Thousand Leaves is based on the same thing. Both are ranged attacks, and Raiden can direct his Thunderbolt in flight."

"We can all throw off a bolt," Mitsumi took over, "it's the first of the new techniques we discovered. Only Juubei and Raiden have gone beyond the basic technique, however. It's more complicated than it looks, and not very efficient, even if it is flashy." Her brother gave her a dirty look, to which she replied by sticking her tongue out.

Gatheirng her courage, Hinata asked, "Ano, how inefficient is it? N... neither Juubei's nor Kuma's techniques made good use of their chakra. There was too much random release, too much uncontrolled power leaking away."

The four blinked, then looked at each other. For a few moments, half-words and signs flew between them, then Kuma turned back to Hinata. "We're not quite sure how to answer that, Hinata-sama. We just went by feel, instinct. Bolt is very draining, for its effects. I can't throw more than two or three in an hour, with which I'm less accurate than with normal kunai. Even Juubei can only manage five or six in that length of time, with the same accuracy. Compare that to Thousand Leaves. If he..." Kuma paused, rocking his head slightly as she searched for the right words, "...balances them properly, he can use it three times in an hour. With his normal accuracy, he's going to hit six or seven targets with each, as opposed to one from a normal bolt. Even against a trained shinobi, he's far more likely to hit with one Thousand Leaves than with three or four bolts. Bolt is less efficient."

"Sounds like something else to work on," Anko commented. Then she grinned, "Right, then. Since we're out here, and you kids need to learn how to do things properly, let's get to it! Kakashi, I'll take Mitsumi and one of yours, 'cept Juubei." She put one hand on her chest and announced dramatically, "My poor heart can't take more than one Mitarashi at a time!"

"Hmm, Kuma, work with Anko," Kakashi ordered, "I'll take Rumiko and Juubei off a ways north."

"Good, Hinata. Pick a pair. You're on monitoring, obviously, but feel free to hit them when they do something stupid. We'll be here all night, kids, so I hope you brought snacks!"

Watching the two groups split off, Kakashi's departing rapidly, Hinata was still bothered by one thought. The demonstrations of ability were impressive, and the potential was frightening in its expanse, but understandable in its nature. What bothered her, still, was where that power came from. As she settled in to watch Anko begin training her students, she pulled out a pen and jotted down a note on the back of the book.

_Where's the power coming from? Should someone with good chakra control try this?_

------------------------------

Two weeks passed rapidly for Hinata. Training Ground South Four soon became almost as familiar to her as her own family's estate. In the four days before Raiden and Yohko were cleared to rejoin their teammates, Anko dragged the four other Genin, Kakashi and Hinata out to South Four one day, kept them there overnight, and returned late the second day. Hinata was normally simply watching, offering advice when she could, but even that left her feeling run ragged. The days she watched whichever pair Kakashi was working with were slightly more relaxed, but still harsh.

When Raiden and Yohko rejoined them, things only intensified. Raiden's demonstration of the Thunderbolt was impressive, a small blue sphere of concentrated chakra the size of Hinata's fist, which detonated on impact in a massive, directed explosion. It lacked the elegance and balance of Naruto-kun's Rasengan, and was even more blatantly wasteful of power than Kuma's technique, but was still impressive.

Yohko refused to demonstrate her own 'strongest technique.' She merely held up her right fist, turned to show the back of her hand. A moment later, a ring of seals slowly appeared, just like that on Raiden's hand, save for the central configuration. "This is my strongest technique, Anko-sensei, but I will not use it again. Not unless I want to execute someone in a particularly vicious fashion." To Hinata's surprise, Anko had simply nodded, and proceeded to break the now six Genin down into their official teams.

For another week after that, the routine had continued with only minor changes. A few days after Raiden and Yohko rejoined them, Anko started having them train against each other. Without the need to worry about the barrier, or being observed by people outside their small group, the combats proved rather interesting. Each of the six was quite firmly wedded to their chosen aspect, with a fighting style that revolved around their techniques' strengths more thoroughly than was normal for Genin.

Two weeks on, however, a hawk interrupted their training. It bore a simple message, "Anko, Kakashi, Hinata. Report, tomorrow morning, my office. Hokage."

So, Hinata now found herself once again standing in the Hokage's office, feeling more than ever like she was being called on the carpet for some infraction. Making maters worse, her father had insisted on a 'training match' at dawn, as he did every month, and her inability to measure up to his exacting standards had not helped her confidence. Only the fact that Anko and Kakashi were senior and would do most of the talking let her maintain the illusion of self-control.

For almost an hour, the two Juonin catalogued their subordinates' abilities. From actual techniques, to attitudes and outlooks, they compressed the past two weeks into a fairly accurate synopsis with an ease Hinata envied. Neither of them seemed in the least disturbed by the Genins' manifest potential, even while they were discussing that potential in bold terms. Hinata managed to add a few comments of her own, clarifications of what she had observed of the Genins' chakra, but mostly tried to make herself as small and inconspicuous as possible.

Finally, Anko summarized, "Essentially, Hokage-sama, they may have passed the Genin exam through unorthodox means, but they more than deserve the positions. They still have a lot to learn, especially chakra control, but that's true of all new Genin. What Kakashi and I would really like to do, is take our teams out on a few missions, simple ones of course, and see what they do in the field. Training grounds are one thing, but no training is as good as the real world."

Tsunade nodded, adding that to the long list of notes she had made during the breifing, then asked, "You're certain you have a good enough grasp of their capabilities to risk them in the field?"

Anko laughed, "They're unconventional, Hokage-sama, but skilled enough. For Genin work. They aren't quite up to taking on one of us," she waved at Kakashi, "except maybe six-on-one, but they're good enough for any C-rank mission you have, possibly even a light B-rank. Yes, I'm willing to risk them in the field."

Kakashi nodded as well, but qualified, "Hmm, I would say they need to learn better self control, especially Anko's team, but yes, I'm also willing to take on missions with them. C-rank."

"What about you, Hinata-chan," Tsunade asked, turning her green gaze to the youngest person present, "what do you think of them? Are they ready for missions? Are they safe enough to give missions to?"

Hinata jumped when Tsunade said her name, shivering uncontrollably. She took a futile second to try and settle her nerves, then said, "Ah... H... Hokage-sama? I... I think they c... can be trusted. B... but... I'm not sure of... where their power is c... coming from. I... it's not normal chakra."

The blonde eyebrows rose, the hawk-like stare becoming slightly more pronounced, "Do you have any ideas as to what it is?"

"Ah... n... no," Hinata admitted, "b... but I... I don't think we can. N... not unless...," she sucked in a last breath, and finished in a rush, "unless someone with already developed chakra control takes on the seal themselves."

The others stared at her for a minute, causing her to fidget uncontrollably. Then Tsunade grunted, saying, "No. I don't think I'll ever let anyone use that seal again. Certainly not until its effects are far more completely understood. I've been reading the copy you made for me, Hinata-chan, and found it to be less than forthcoming." She shook her head, "no, not for a long time. The missions, however, I can do something about. Thank you for the written reports," she tapped the stack of papers right in front of her, "I'll read them over today and make a decision on which missions. Dismissed."

The three shinobi bowed and made their exits, Hinata silently thanking the spirits for her escape. As they walked out of Hokage Tower, Anko stretched her arms over her head, sighing tremendously. "Ah, freedom at last, a day without punks mouthing off, kids throwing fits, or my brat of niece trying to show me up." She made a face, "Now if only I hadn't had to get up early. Anyone else skip breakfast?"

Kakashi chuckled, "'Bout twenty years ago. Haven't gotten up early enough since to make it up."

"Your treat, then," Anko grinned. "Hinata? We can discuss anything except our favorite delinquents."

"N... no, thank you," Hinata replied, "I... I am going to speak with Yohko-kun about the seal. I... I still do not understand its workings well enough."

Anko made a face, "Tche, relax girl! Tsunade gave us the day off, take advantage of it!"

"T... this i... is a day off, Anko-san," Hinata whispered back, "I have not h... had time to speak with Yohko, while she trained with you."

"Tche, fine, be that way." The special jounin shook an admonishing finger at her, "Just remember, all fun and no play makes Hinata a carbon copy of Lee, ne?"


	7. 06 Missions & Crises

**Rise of the Guardians**

By: Daishi Prime

- 6 – Missions & Crises -

Raiden was up early the morning after Anko and Kakashi reported to the Hokage. He and the others had spent the day relaxing the same way they always had – training. With Hinata's advice on control, and what they had learned over the last weeks of having her Byakugan available to _see _what they were doing, they had begun to make great strides. The day before, without their Jounin sensei hanging over them, they had continued working on control.

Hinata had arrived shortly before mid-day, sitting down with Yohko in what had become the 'sitting room', just in front of the kitchen. The two of them had remained absorbed in the journal for hours, while the others trained, taking notes and studying the seal on Yohko's hand incessantly. Lunch and dinner had passed with little notice, and it was not until nearly midnight, when Raiden interrupted them to send Yohko to bed, that Hinata realized what time it was. Rather than kick their sensei out to find her way home, Raiden and Yohko had loaned her the use of a futon. Mitsumi, from her room, joked that the 'guest futon' would probably crumble from shock, since it had never been used.

This morning, standing on the beam in front of his own room, Raiden smiled to see her still there, sleeping peacefully. It was odd not seeing her with a worried look on her face. Moving quietly and carefully in the rising post-dawn light, Raiden took care of his morning requirements, settling down to breakfast on the crossbeam in front of the kitchen. As the others woke, he greeted them silently, motioning for them to remain quiet as well. As quietly as only shinobi who are old friends can, the six settled in to breakfast, waiting for their Jounin instructors.

After the day off, Raiden was expecting Anko to arrive relatively early, and Kakashi to be even later than usual. After that, he figured, would come another hike to South Four. It had been interesting, initially, training all-out against each other with outside observers to comment and demonstrate. But after two weeks of nothing but, it was beginning to wear thin.

He was contemplating this, fidling with an empty plate, when Mitsumi's head jerked up and around, towards the front of the building. "Uh oh, she's pissed," Mitsumi muttered, before rolling backwards off the crossbeam. "Head's up, Hokage in five seconds!"

_Typical,_ Raiden thought, as her and the others stared at the door, surprise holding them, _she never gives enough warning!_

He had just enough time to land by Hinata and touch her shoulder, before Tsunade slammed the door of the Dojo open hard enough to wrench both hinges, tearing the upper one completely from the frame. The blonde woman paused, blinked, then shook her head angrily and strode in, "Up! All of you! Front and center!"

They gathered quickly enough, the others unconsciously falling in behind Raiden in a semi defensive stance. It wasn't until Tsunade was staring at him that he realized they were also shielding Hinata, still pulling herself awake and free of the futon. Willing himself calm, taking note of both Anko and Kakashi entering more sedately behind Tsunade, he asked, "Yes, Hokage-sama?"

"Your sensei seem to think you're ready for a mission. Unfortunately for them, I've got a crisis instead! Last night, shinobi of unknown allegience..." she broke off, staring over his head, and Raiden felt the others tense behind him as her nostrils flared. "Hyuuga Hinata," Tsunade said after a moment, almost snarling, "how long have you been here?"

Behind him, Raiden could almost feel Hinata quivering, "A... ano? S... since y... yesterday morning," she replied softly, "I... I was s... speaking w... with Yohko."

Tsunade sighed heavily, "Well, at least that's _one _of you safe. Though I would have liked to have known that half an hour ago!"

"What is wrong, Hokage-sama," Raiden asked, trying to give Hinata space.

Instead of answering, Tsunade asked, "Were there any problems last night, or this morning? Anyone trying to get in here?"

Raiden quirked an eyebrow, then shook his head, "No, no problems."

"The ANBU parked outside bugged out about half an hour ago, though," Mitsumi offered, "real fast like."

Raiden felt a rush of anger of his own, but managed to suppress it as he turned to face Mitsumi. His voice was still hard and flat as he asked, "And you just now felt like pointing that out?"

"Calm down," Mitsumi replied, "he was leaving, not arriving. No big."

"Baka! We're a potential threat to the village being watched on the Hokage's orders! Of course it's something 'big' if the ANBU watching us vanishes!"

"Urusai," Tsunade ordered curtly, "this is wasting time." When Raiden turned back to her, she continued, "Very early this morning, slightly more than an hour before dawn, a group of shinobi of unknown allegience entered the Hyuuga estate, and kidnapped Hyuuga Hanabi." She ignored Hinata's cry, and continued, "Hyuuga Hiashi and several members of the Hyuuga household were seriously injured in attempting to prevent the kidnapping.

"The ANBU left this morning because I summoned him. While the shinobi remain unidentified, there is reason to believe they are headed for the Hidden Village of Stone. As such, there are five routes for them to follow. I already have most of the shinobi available searching the area around the village, but that leaves the five routes. Three of them now have ANBU teams moving to cover them. However, I have no more ANBU to cover the last two. Only Anko, Kakashi, and their teams. You.

"I don't like this, but I need Anko and Kakashi out there. The six of you are, according to your Jounin, strong enough to watch yourselves. Do so. You are going along to provide extra eyes, nothing more. Do you understand?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama," Raiden replied, the others nodding behind him.

"Good." She turned to Anko and Kakashi. "You understand, also? Watch your routes, but they may already be too far ahead for you to intercept. You are authorized to go as far as you must to find Hyuuga Hanabi. Return her to Konoha as soon as possible." Tsunade paused, head shifting slightly towards the Genin and Hinata, then added, "If you cannot bring her back, make sure she doesn't leave." Anko and Kakashi both nodded silently, and Tsunade stormed out, as abruptly as she had arrived.

Before she was out the door, Raiden turned to Hinata. Bowing slightly, he asked, "Hinata-sama, with your permission, we would like two drops of blood. Rumiko and Mitsumi may be able to use them to track your sister."

Hinata was still in shock, quivering with emotion, but she managed to respond, "H... how?"

Rumiko touched her shoulder, and smiled, one hand moving languidly before her chest. Mitsumi translated, "Blood calls to blood. You are the most closely related person in the world to Hanabi by blood – same mother, same father. Rumiko may be able to use the blood connection to trace Hanabi, especially if she's bleeding herself. Me, I can go off the chakra all blood carries. Same principle, but I look for chakra instead of blood."

"H... hai," Hinata agreed, shoving out one hand, "Q... quickly, please."

Raiden nodded, and whiped out a kunai, leaving a shallow gash on the tip of one finger. Rumiko took Hinata's hand from Raiden, and rubbed the cut along the back of her right hand. Briefly, the seal there appeared, then faded away. Mitsumi, on the other hand, rubbed the cut once over each of her closed eyes, before kissing Hinata's palm.

"A... a moment, I will get my pouch," Hinata said, turning back to the futon.

"No," Anko stopped her, "you are too close to this, Hinata. And you are the heir to House Hyuuga. We cannot risk you on this mission, not when someone has already kidnapped your sister. Go to Hokage Tower and wait there. With the Hokage close to hand, you will be in no danger."

Hinata hung her head, and Raiden could tell she was on the verge of bursting in to tears. He put a hand on her shoulder, and when she looked up, said, "Peace, Hinata-sama. Konoha shinobi are the greatest in the world. Three ANBU squads? Anko? Kakashi? They will find Hanabi, never fear. Also, I give you my word – orders or not, the Guardians will do everything we can to bring her back, one way or another."

------------------------------

Hinata did not go to the Tower, after the others left. For a time, she simply collapsed on the futon, crying. Her sister was missing, kidnapped by foreign shinobi, and probably afraid for her life. And all Hinata could do was sit in Konoha and wait. It was worse, worse by far, than when Sasuke left, and Nartuo pursued him. It was not the boy she had a crush on pursuing a rogue, but her own sister, stolen by trained and dangerous shinobi.

As she lay there, the long years of experience and Kurenai's training abandoned her. Fear and grief pounded at what self confidence she had built over the last years, until all she could hear were the old condemnations. _Too weak_, the memories whispered, _spineless. Always waiting for others to protect you, others to lead you. Never strong. Clan head? The Hyuugas are doomed. Kiba and Shino carried you, Naruto never saw you. Hanabi was stronger as a child than Hinata as a Genin. But you're the _heir_. Have to be _protected_, have to be _codled_. Too _weak _to be anything else._

On and on, as she sobbed out her fears, she struggled with her own memories. She remembered standing up to Neiji in her first Chunin exam, to which the inner critics answered with the memory of her defeat. She remembered training with Kiba and Shino, which was countered with Neiji leading his team instead of following. She remembered her students, all of them, but her failure to see the differences of the Twins tore that bit of pride into slivers of reproach.

Eventually, some unknown time later, she was reduced to a chant, whispering it over and over again. "Too weak, must be stronger, too weak, must be stronger..." It stopped when, pushing herself upright once more, she felt a soft edge under her hand. Looking down, she stared at the copied journal, and slowly felt a strange calm settle over her.

------------------------------

The two teams split up just south of the village, Kakashi leading his group into the mountains, Anko leading her along the edge of the rocky terrain. Raiden could tell she was holding herself back, limiting herself to her students' best pace, and couldn't decide if he was grateful for that or not. As they ran, she filled in the Genin on what information she had regarding their quarry.

"Ten shinobi slipped into Hyuuga Manor last night. Hiashi and his family killed most of them. One is injured but alive in Konoha. Shizune had him in hand, and Ibiki was preparing to question him when I left. That leaves four still on the loose, all of them probably Jounin level. Hiashi retained consciousness long enough to describe some of their techniques, which are what lead us to believe their from the Village of Stone.

"If we find them, leave them for me. I will get Hanabi and pass her to one of you. Then the three of you will take her and run, you understand? Run, as fast as you can, for Konoha."

"We understand, Anko-sensei," Raiden replied.

"Even if she is just a Hyuuga," Mitsumi muttered.

Anko's hearing was quite good, and she glared back over her shoulder, "What was that?"

Mitsumi started to stammer a denial, but Yohko over-rode her, "We dislike the Hyuuga clan, sensei. A matter of outlook. They are too insular, especially for what's supposed to be one of the greatest families in Konoha."

"You're one to talk, miss 'I sealed myself four years ago for power.'"

"And we are aware of that arrogance," Yohko answered easily. "We also are neither as numerous nor as powerful as Clan Hyuuga, and we do not make a habit of crippling our own members."

Anko almost lost her landing, "How did you know about that?"

Yohko laughed softly, "the same way I know about your history with Orochimaru. I researched it."

"Yohko _is_ the brains of our outfit, ba-chan," Mitsumi supplied..

"Urusai, Chibi-ko. That's still one of the most closely held secrets in Konoha."

"Hyuuga Neiji revealed it in his first attempt at the Chunin Exam, about five years ago," Yohko said, "I simply read the record and spoke with a few people who were there."

"Still, you kids are hardly in a position to judge the Hyuugas," Anko reprimanded, "They _are _one of the most important families in Konoha. Remember that. Besides, we'd go after anyone who was kidnapped, under much the same conditions. It's called loyalty, maybe you could research that."

They were silent for a few moments, then Raiden stated, "We understand loyalty, Anko-san. Better than you think."

"Loyalty to each other is one thing. Loyalty to Village, Clan and Ideals is another. Don't get the four confused."

They continued in silence for several hours, passing the South Four, progressing further from the village than the three Genin had ever been before. For a time, around noon, Raiden felt a brief pulling on his hand, a slight touch of fire over his seal, but ignored it. It was not what he feared, and given the need to search for Hanabi's abductors, he did not have time to spare for oddities.

It was early afternoon when what he feared came to pass. They had eaten on the run, and were still searching, now criss-crossing their base course in an effort to find the abductors trail. Raiden was in mid-air when the seal on his hand suddenly flared with red light, causing a burning sensation. He could feel, for the few seconds it remained lit, the same things in Yohko's and Mistumi's hands. All three of them stumbled to a halt, Yohko actually gasping in pain.

Ahead of them, Anko was several yards on before she noticed her subordinates had stopped. She turned and looked at them quizzically, "What is it? Find the trail?"

"No," Raiden answered curtly, staring westward, "Juubei did, he triggered the summons."

"Summons?"

"The Seal retains power, even after it is released. Part of that power binds us together. By tracing the outer circle in our own blood and calling the chakra through it, we can summon the others." He shook his head suddenly, "not summon... alert. We know who triggered the seal, what direction they're in, and how far away. At least, we know those things for the moment of the alert. The only reason Juubei would've triggered the summons is if they found Hanabi."

Anko gave him a suspicious look, asking, "How certain of that are you?"

Yohko answered, "We developed rules, to keep our secret. We call them Rules of Engagement, a military thing Raiden picked up."

"They were your idea, Yohko," Raiden countered.

"Urusai. Under ROE Alpha, which we've been using for the past two weeks, use of the seal to summon the others is permitted under only two circumstances. First, the one its always allowed for – an immediate threat to Konoha that must be eliminated. Second, if the assistance of other Guardians is required to accomplish the mission at hand."

"How can you tell the difference?"

"We can't," Raiden allowed, "but either of those circumstances requires an immediate response from all of us." He held up a hand to cut off any response from Anko, continuing, "if you order us to remain on this route, we will. But Kakashi's team has found Hanabi. I'm as certain of that as I am of the sun in the sky."

Anko continued to stare at him for a few seconds, then sighed. "You really need to tell me about this crap _before_ we're in the field, you know? You kids are ruining my blood pressure." She sighed again, shaking her head, "If you're wrong, Tsunade's going to have my head, but I'll be sure to collect yours first. Lead off, Raiden, since you know where we're going."

"Mitsumi, point," Raiden ordered, and the four of them set into motion, leaving their assigned area unwatched.

------------------------------

Juubei hit the ground hard, but managed to roll with the impact. Tumbling over the rocks and roots was unpleasent, but still better than a straight impact. It also let him come back more-or-less on his feet, with twin kunai up, one blade out, the other held reversed along his forearm.

The unidentified shinobi he was fighting wasn't behind him, however. The woman, tall and solid, was sliding away herself, in a more controlled fashion, from Kuma's follow-up. The towering genin was the only one of the three not moving. All three of them stood there for another second, analyzing the altered situation.

Juubei used the time to localize his teammates, mostly successfully. Kakashi and a pair of shinobi were off to his left, quite some distance and thoroughly involved with each other. Farther ahead, he could sense Rumiko's frustration as she tried to keep pace with the last of the intruders, the one carrying the Hyuuga. Kuma, of course, was right in front of him.

Several hours ago, they had found the trail quite clear, to his surprise. The Hyuuga was aparently bleeding - deliberately, he thought. Less than a kilometer from Konoha's walls, Rumiko had found a few drops of blood on a leaf by an otherwise unmarked trail. Every few yards, for several kilometers, Rumiko had found another drop of the child's blood. By the time that trail had disappeared, Rumiko had been close enough to sense the Hyuuga directly, and Kakashi had accelerated their pursuit.

When they came within sight of the fleeing nins, Juubei had triggered his seal. He had seen the Hyuuga, seen the opposition, and known they would need help. Now, he was wishing he had triggered it sooner. The three shinobi now delaying them had not given Kakashi a chance to order the Genin to run, they had simply attacked. Juubei and Kuma had paired off with this one, and now they were separated from the rest of their group.

The pause ended when the foreign shinobi lunged, aiming for Kuma. She angled her attack, placing the larger Genin between her and Juubei, but for the moment was limiting herself to physical attacks. Juubei saw her sideways motion and mirrored it, charging for Kuma's back. For his part, Kuma, shifted stance, his movements slow and easy compared to Juubei's and the foreigner's.

The foreigner struck first, lunging in with knife extended towards Kuma's lower abdomen, intending to gut him quickly. Her eyes widened in surprise when, instead of dodging, one of Kuma's massive hands interposed itself, and her kunai scraped bone and deflected up and sideways. Kuma smiled at her serenly, and completed the deceptively slow and steady motion, slamming a ham-sized fist into the woman's stomach. She gasped, losing her breath, but damage wasn't Kuma's goal. His punch, slower than normal in fact as well as appearance, continued, lifting her off the ground and catapulting her skyward just as Juubei leapt.

He cleared Kuma's head easily, a flying leap that carried him clear over the woman's back. He was perfectly placed when Kuma's punch lifted her into the air, to ram both kunai down into her unprotected back with chakra-enhance strength. The twin blows were hard enough on their own - lead by the blades they were more than enough that what fell out of the cloud of smoke were pieces of log, instead of a whole one.

"Kuso!" Juubei couldn't help cursing, even as he rolled in the air to land on his feet. He had _known _they had her. "Back off, Kuma!"

Kuma nodded, and began striding backwards, still moving with the slow power of his chosen martial arts form. Juubei landed several meters past the log, almost where the woman's attack run began. He heard her laughing, somewhere to his right, now.

"That was cute, children," she said, voice echoing oddly through the trees. "But do you actually think you can take a _real _ninja?"

"Kuma," Juubei called, "think you can cover for me?"

"Hai," Kuma rumbled back, shifting stance to a wider guard.

Juubei gave him a moment to settle, then charged for his position, running flat out. He sensed the woman's motion a moment later, almost parallel to him, but some distance out and closing. He smiled, and flipped both kunai in his hands, concentrating. The pattern had to form just right, or all he'd accomplish is a melted chunk of metal. He was almost to Kuma when it was ready, and he spun twisting himself in a spiral, hurling the first kunai into the trees, his voice a whisper, "dodge these leaves, bitch." The second kunai was airborne a moment later.

The woman was square in his aim when he released the first blade, a nearly perfect target. Her reactions were very good, and she dropped into a running crouch, but that was not nearly enough to preserve her. There were over a hundred glowing kunai in the air when the swarm reached her, detonating in a wash of light and chakra that caused her to cry out in pain and surprise.

Drained for the moment, Juubei collapsed, hitting the ground on his back and sliding to rest just in front of Kuma. He was panting slightly, the combination of running and throwing the Thousand Leaves draining. But he wasn't so far gone that he didn't notice Kuma tensing, or hear the foreigner stand up again, sliced leaves and branches sliding off her.

Rolling his head sideways, he stared at her for a moment, unable to discern what, precisely, was wrong. It almost looked like someone had detonated cherry-bombs in a wet clay statue. Brown craters covered her, distorting her appearance. The distortions worsened as the craters flowed and collapsed, mud falling away from her in gobbets.

"Kuso," Juubei muttered again, raising one arm to the sky while he watched the seething woman approach, "Didn't actually want to try this."

She took two steps, the last of her mud-armor falling away, and it was apparent she was no longer happy. The snarl on her face promised death. Then Juubei's tendril of chakra found its target, still climbing. He smiled at her, still laying on the ground, and he called out, "Pucker up, deary."

Juubei's second kunai came straight down, using gravity to accelerate it. It's low mass and aerodynamic shape gave it a high terminal velocity, and it was still accelerating when, guided by Juubei's chakra, it slammed into the joint of the woman's neck and shoulder, striking with the power of a madman's axe. She dropped, and this time there was no puff of smoke or crater of mud.

Kuma hauled his brother off the ground before she had even collapsed, and Juubei spent the time before being set on his feet debating if he was grateful or not. It would have been pleasant to simply lay there for a while, like a couple days. The combination of a high-strength Thousand Leaves, a new technique he'd thought up on the spot, and the relaxation that came with ending a tough fight left him feeling weak-kneed and giddy.

Kuma set him on his feet, brushed him off, and asked, "Ready?"

"Sure," Juubei sighed, "Kakashi's thataway." He waved of in the vague direction he remembered their sensei fighting.

"Rumiko?"

"Still on course for the Village of Stone." Juubei thought for a few seconds, debating, then sighed. "We _should_ get Kakashi, then go in pursuit. But Rumiko's going to need more help than Kakashi." He stepped off and started to leap, when a massive hand grabbed him by the collar of his vest.

"Arms," Kuma muttered, already pulling out a canteen and field-bandage. "Looks like you scraped them when you landed."

Juubei blinked, then raised his arms, twisting them so he could see the undersides. Sure enough, there were a number of shallow scratches and a lot of dirt embedded in his skin, where the sleeves of his shirt ended. He grunted, surprised, then shrugged. "Not now, Kuma. Rumiko can deal with it later, if we're not killed in the fight."

"Not a good idea, Juubei. They'll get infected. Rumiko may just leave them like that, to teach you a lesson."

"You, maybe," Juubei agreed, leaping into the nearest tree, "but this is me, remember? Raiden's got nothing on me in ignoring pain. Let's go, Rumiko's getting further away."

------------------------------

It took the two of them some time to catch up to Rumiko and the last foreigner, only partly due to Kuma. While the big Genin was slower in reaction time, he was quite fast enough once he got moving, and the two of them raced through the trees at top speed. Knowing the direction, and thanks to the seal, they could follow her easily enough, especially as Rumiko was leaving marks on the trail herself, scraping the bark of trees as she passed.

They caught up with the silent kunoichi, joining her pursuit. Just ahead, she told them, Twenty meters. Hyuuga's alive, unconscious, no longer bleeding. Three of us can take him, but her safety?

Juubei shook his head, "Tche, why does everyone think I'm Raiden? We're on a rescue mission, onee-chan, whatever the Hokage's orders." He grinned, looking over Rumiko at Kuma, "First plan's good old Hammer and Anvil. Kuma, think you can get ahead of this guy?" Kuma narrowed his eyes, thinking, then nodded, and Juubei continued, "I'll be the hammer then. Rumiko, your sole concern is to get the Hyuuga. Once you have her, you break for Konoha. Kuma and I will keep the shinobi busy while you get away. Watch yourself, Kakashi was fighting a pair of Jounin, he may not be covering the back-trail."

Hai, Rumiko signalled.

"On it," Kuma said, circling wide of their track.

Juubei gave him as long as possible, then moved in himself. Channeling chakra around his legs, he accelerated his pace fast enough to catch the foreigner. This one was fair-sized, slightly taller than Kuma, but more lightly built. Slung over one shoulder, hanging with the limp sway of the unconscious, was Hyuuga Hanabi. The man glanced over his shoulder, but all Juubei saw was a flash of eyes before the shinobi accelerated himself.

Juubei tossed three shuriken, not in a fan to cover an area, as his sister preferred, but three separate throws that happened to initiate from the same action. High, middle and low, the three projectiles hissed slightly as they spun through the air. None of the three hit, but Juubei smiled as they forced the foreigner to dodge, slowing him down.

"Should've left her when you didn't get out unnoticed," Juubei called out, "We might've let you go." The foreigner did not respond, merely resumed his flight. Juubei shook his head, checked on Kuma, and doubled his attack, sending a flight of six shuriken.

This, the foreigner had more trouble dodging. He was twisted in mid-air, aiming for a tree to one side, when Juubei's follow-up of an explosive seal wrapped around a kunai arrived. Juubei's timing was off, the seal detonating past the shinobi instead of next to him, but it still launched the man further sideways and away from his intended landing.

Kuma was waiting below, already swinging his left arm around at the man's chest. The shinobi, however, was of a better calliber than their last opponant. Leaving one hand on the Hyuuga's back, his free hand slapped Kuma's fist aside, and twisted in his sleeve. The shinobi landed solidly on his feet, and bent his body explosively, heaving the overextended Genin several yards. He was in stance before Kuma or Juubei landed, grip still firm on his hostage.

Juubei stayed in the trees, watching the Jounin before him. Below and to his left, he heard Kuma land with a grunt, and the continued sounds indicating he was rolling to his feet. Vaguely, he was aware of Rumiko arriving on the ground behind another tree, beyond the Jounin. After a moment, he asked, "You ready, Kuma?"

"Set," was the only response.

Reaching under his vest, Juubei pulled six more shuriken, channeling his chakra into them. He held them up, fanned, allowing the foreigner to see the blatant discoloration of the poison-coated tips. "You really should've left her behind," he told the Jounin, then snapped his arms sideways, throwing the six shuriken out in two directions. Letting the motion imbalance him, he fell backwards off the tree limb, part of his attention ensuring he flipped as he fell. Below him, Juubei could vaguely sense the build-up of his oath-brother's chakra, and hear Kuma begin his charge.

What he was doing now was complicated, but much simpler than the kunai strike he had used early. He was simply guiding these shuriken, curving their course around to block the shinobi's options, not accelerating or sharpening them. Still, pulling six shuriken onto different but converging courses was difficult, the more so that they had to be timed to arrive just when Kuma did, and not hit either Rumiko or the Hyuuga.

The Jounin did not stand around waiting, but did the unexpected – he counter-charged. Juubei had to bring the shuriken in faster, not quite getting the full encirlcement he had wanted, but five of the six reached strike angles in time, coming in fast towards the foreigner's back, head and unencumbered side. The shinobi swatted two out of the air, ducked a third, and caught the last pair in his padded vest. Juubei couldn't tell if the two that hit broke the skin, but a second later, it didn't matter.

Expecting Kuma's punch, the foreigner pulled up short, rocking his torso back to rob the blow of any power and simultaneously lashing out in a viciously fast round-house. But Kuma wasn't aiming for him, massive upraised fist coming down in front of the foreigner, incidentally blocking the man's kick. Kuma's blow struck the ground like a divine hammer, the built-up chakra in his shoulder releasing in a sudden terrible blast far worse than any exploding seal. Thirty feet away, Juubei was still bowled over by the concussion.

He rolled with it, more prepared than the foreigner, and was charging around the falling cloud of dust before ground stopped rippling. He caught sight of the foreigner tumbling along the ground as he rounded the cloud. More importantly, he saw the unconscious figure of the Hyuuga falling, and Rumiko airborne to meet her. Putting the two girls out of his mind, he kept on target.

Freed of the shuriken, his hands went behind his back briefly, coming forward again with the bladed steel-knuckles he kept holstered in the small of his back. He brought his closed fists around front again just as he came in range, and unleashed a string of fast, slashing punches at the foreigner's torso. The shinobi was still recovering his own balance and stance, but he was also a Jounin. It took all Juubei's remaining chakra, on top of his natural reflexes and speed, to keep the shinobi on the defensive.

Even that wasn't enough for very long. The Jounin's arms were a bleeding maze of cuts, and the torso of his shirt was sliced in several places, but the wounds were minor and didn't appear to be bothering him at all. Certainly not enough to keep him from taking advantage of a slight slowing of Juubei's assault seconds later. Juubei felt the moment he came off speed, knew, as his perceptions out-paced his body, that he had lost the advantage, and a moment later two fast, hard punches slammed into his face and chest, sliding right past his last-second attempt to block, sending him sprawling.

For a moment, he thanked his curse-seal's side-effect. Instead of laying on the ground, gasping in pain, he flipped backwards and rolled to his feet in a crouch, on guard faster than the Jounin was expecting. Then his senses caught up, and he snarled silently. He could feel the bones in his chest shifting, at least two broken, and his jaw felt mis-aligned.

The Jounin, on guard himself, raised an eyebrow. "You should be crying, kid. I'm impressed."

"Shut up and die, already," Juubei muttered, the words coming out slurred when his jaw moved strangely. "Kuma?"

"Not yet," his brother muttered, still in the crater his earlier strike had left.

The Jounin chuckled, "Relax, kids. You slowed us down..."

"...but don't begin to have what it takes to stop us," another voice said.

Juubei sighed, recognizing the voice, and glanced over his shoulder. Sure enough, standing on the same branch Juubei had last used, was the woman he thought he and Kuma had already taken out. Worse, the Hyuuga was now slung over her shoulder, still unconscious. Shifting his glance down, he felt a spike of rage at the sight of Rumiko sprawled out at the base of the tree, a kunai through her hand and buried in the living wood.

The woman looked the trio over, and asked her partner, "Kill 'em?"

"Of course," he agreed, "don't want anyone reporting back, do we? It'll make a good down-payment for the ninja we had to leave behind last night."

Juubei shifted stance, rising slightly and turning back to the man. The foreigners wouldn't risk bringing the Hyuuga any closer to the Genin, not after they'd almost gotten her once. He knew the man would make the attack, and began shaping his chakra. _Thought the heroic last stand would come later,_ he thought to himself. Then he felt a feather-light breath of air on the back of his neck, and grinned. "Baaaaka," he drawled, "you wait, you loose."

The man blinked, quirked an eyebrow, then shook his head at Juubei's apparent insanity. He flourished a pair of kunai, spinning them prettily, then locked into a stance, left blade leading. He took one step, then jerked to a hault as his partner's chuckles cut off in a surprised grunt. His eyes flicked off his target for a second, then left Juubei completely, widening. Juubei, half-facing her anyway in his own stance, glanced back as well.

She was still standing, but without the relaxed energy of a trained fighter. Instead, she was staring stupidly at a kunai embedded in her chest, just over her heart. A small line of blood appeared at the corner of her mouth, and then she jerked again, like a puppet, and started to fall forward. Rumiko came up past her, pulling the Hyuuga free before landing on the same branch. The woman's body hit the ground with a limp thud, two more kunai buried in her back.

From behind the foreigner, Raiden spoke up, "I voted to simply kill you both. But Anko-sensei thinks you might have useful info. So please, liven up my day a little. Keep holding those kunai for another few seconds."

Juubei had to give the guy credit, he was quite obviously planning a counter before Raiden finished speeking. He relaxed out of his stance, releasing the kunai to drop to the forest floor. "Well done," he complimented, "very well done. Didn't expect this much resistance from a bunch of kids." Then his left hand flicked down, and a smoke bomb detonated at his feet, releasing a choking cloud of darkness.

Juubei reacted fast, faster than the rest, expecting the Jounin to make a try for the Hyuuga. He backpedaled fast, fists coming up again, coming even with Kuma. The giant Genin came back to his feet as well, in time to see a painfully bright blue flash rocket into the woods to their right. A second later, Raiden's Thunderbolt detonated, blowing down a tree in the process.

"Kuso! Just _winged_ him," Raiden snarled.

Juubei was surprised, both that Raiden missed and that he was obviously going in pursuit, but Anko, standing beside him, simply grabbed his collar and jerked him up short. "Let him go," she ordered off-handedly, "we've got what we came for. Gather 'round, kids. Where's Kakashi?"

"We were separated," Juubei explained, "further back, he took on a pair of shinobi. We fought the..." he was interrupted by the sudden application of pressue to his jaw, forcing it closed. Blinking, he looked down to find Rumiko already resetting the fractured bone, hands glowing slightly with chakra. Mitsumi was holding the Hyuuga a few feet away.

"We fought the woman," Kuma picked up, "While Rumiko continued the pursuit. Thought we finished her off, then caught up with this guy. Managed to shake his grip on Hanabi, but the woman interefered again before Rumiko could make her get-away. Kakashi didn't have time to give any orders before we were separated. I think the two he was fighting were Jounin."

Juubei nodded along, as much as Rumiko would let him. She finished with his jaw about when Kuma finished, and he started to speak. Instead, he raised an eyebrow at the brown-haired kunoichi, silently questioning why her hand was over his mouth. When she had his attention, she signed, no speaking, no moving the jaw. Don't make it worse before the medics see it. He thought about arguing with her, then shrugged. No pain did not necessarily mean no damage. Rumiko nodded, then tugged at his vest, off with it. Minutes later, she had reset and wrapped his ribs, roughly but thoroughly.

Anko watched the entire process silently, including the following bandaging of Kuma's hand. Once that was done, she nodded, "Right, looks like we're all set here. Who's the fastest of you six?" Juubei raised his hands, and she quirked an eyebrow, "except for you, punching bag."

"Mitsumi, if she isn't being stealthy," Raiden said.

"Typical," Anko muttered, then pulled out a small scroll and an ink-pen. She scribbled a few characters on the paper, rolled it back up, and handed it to Mitsumi. "Get this to the Hokage, now. Avoid any contact with non-Konoha shinobi, and don't stop for anyone _but_ the Hokage. Clear?" Mitsumi nodded, slipping the scroll into an inside pocket of her jacket, then took off running. Anko watched her disappear amongst the trees, then continued, "The rest of us are going to head back a little more sedately, keep those injuries from getting any worse. Raiden. since you're so fond of carrying unconscious girls around, hentai, take Hanabi. We'll follow Team Eight's course as closely as possible, and see if we can find Kakashi as well. If he's still fighting, Raiden will take Hanabi back to Konoha, with the rest of you as escort. I'll get the lazy bum's back myself. Clear? Move out."

Ignoring Rumiko's hovering, and Anko's repeated considering looks, Juubei leapt into the trees and took point. Experimenting as he ran, he found Rumiko had somehow sealed his jaw shut – he couldn't even open it enough to breath through it.

------------------------------

Raiden was unsurprised when Kakashi joined them almost immediately, injured but definitely the victor. The two unconscious shinobi slung over his shoulders were proof enough of that. Anko didn't even slow the party down, simply grabbed one prisoner and began berating the other Jounin for letting his team get away from him.

Carrying Hanabi, the mission's objective, he found himself relegated to the center of the traveling group. Juubei, then Rumiko, led off, he was flanked by the two Jounin, and Kuma and Yohko brought up the rear. The formation was far from conducive to conversation, especially given that they were all keeping watch for more of the foreign shinobi. Raiden was expecting a long quiet run back to Konoha.

He was a little surprised, therefore, when Yohko called out from behind, "Ah, excuse me sibs, but, is anyone else having a problem with their seal?"

"It's active," Kuma replied.

"Mine also," Yohko said.

Looking back, Raiden could see Kuma holding up a fist. On the back of his hand the seal, normally invisible, was distinct. A glance ahead showed both Juubei and Rumiko holding their hands visible. Both of their seals were similarly visible. "Now that you mention it," he said, "Mine's been tingling for a couple of hours now."

"Probably use, we haven't pushed them this hard before," Kuma said.

"Then why is mine active? I haven't done much more than run, today," Yohko countered.

"Or mine," Raiden said. "It was tingling before we joined up, before the Thunderbolt."

Rumiko dropped back, joining in, Could be range? We've never been this far from the village.

"Possible," Yohko agreed, "But it's getting stronger."

The others carried on for a few minutes, analyizing the new sensation and attempting to explain it. Raiden listened, but remained out of it, a suspicion growing in the back of his mind. To his surprise, Anko and Kakashi merely listened, obviously cataloguing everything that was said, but not offering their own insights, if any. Finally, Raiden interrupted the debate, "Anko-sensei. Could we accelerate the pace? Kuma and Juubei can keep up with us faster than this, and with the Seals acting strangely, speed becomes more important than conservation of energy."

Anko grinned, "Oh, you're just nervous being so far from home, aren't you, Raiden?" When he only stared at her, she sighed, "Fine, but you can't ruin my fun forever. I'll get you eventually."

"No doubt, Anko-sensei. Consider it a challenge."

"Oh, I do, kid. I most definitely do."

------------------------------

By the time they reached Konoha's walls, they were surrounded by Leaf shinobi. ANBU teams formed a close circle, but the remainder of the searchers had also received word by then, and gathered close. Mostly, the gathered crowd was interested in security – they still had a mission to return Hyuuga Hanabi, and until she was back in the village and confirmed safe, that mission would not be finished. In large part, however, they were quite interested in the group of Genin who had allegedly retrieved the girl, taking down shinobi even the powerful Lord Hyuuga had not been able to defeat.

Raiden half-expected the ANBU to take the Hyuuga off his hands immediately, but they left her with him. He also expected the crowd, as it grew, to impede their progress. The crowd proved to have the opposite effect, as they cleared a path through even the curious civilians who had, by this time, heard many rumors of the attack on the Hyuugas, the kidnapping, and the rescue mission. The one expectation he had that came true was the discomfort from the stares and curious mutterings of the other Konoha shinobi.

None of this, however, distracted him from the growing pain in his Seal. As they approached the village, the pins-and-needles sensation had become more intense, just as when he first placed the Seal years before. It progressed, as it had then, through itching, to actual pain the closer they came to Konoha, though it remained limited to the back of his hand. By the time they crossed the wall, it was an actively burning flare visible through his glove.

When they reached the hospital, they found a serious-faced Mitsumi and Tsunade waiting. Concerned more by Mistumi than Tsunade, Raiden passed off Hanabi's still-unconscious form to a medic-nin, who promptly vanished with her. As he dreaded, when Tsunade waved the rest of the party inside, she did not follow the medic, but pulled them all into an unused operating chamber, sealing the heavy door behind her.

"Congratulations on a job very well done," she began, nodding to each of them in turn. "Bringing Hanabi back alive is most impressive, and Lord Hyuuga has already asked me to offer you his thanks, and to extend an invitaiton to accept that thanks in person..."

"It was a job, nothing more," Raiden replied, "no thanks are necessary."

One blonde eyebrow twitched upward, and Tsunade continued as if he hadn't spoken, "...so tomorrow afternoon, once he's been released, the six of you will present yourselves, as a group, at the Hyuuga Manor. You'll be polite, or I'll box your ears in. Clear?"

Raiden nodded, "Clear, Hokage-sama."

"Good. Now," and her face settled into a ferocious frown, "where's Hinata?"

Kakashi and Anko both made surprised sounds, and he replied, "Hmm, we sent her to the Tower, Hokage-sama. She never arrived?"

"I believe she's still at the Dojo, Hokage-sama," Raiden said. "With your permission, we'll go make sure."

Tsunade gave him a searching look, "Why would she still be there?"  
He thought for a few seconds, considering, then sighed, and held up his right hand. The Seal on the back was glowing red. "I suspect she placed the Seal of the Guard of Seven on herself." The other Guardians gasped, touching their own Seals as if seeking confirmation, but he ignored them. "Placing it herself must have been terribly painful, Hokage-sama. I doubt she remained conscious for long."

"Why would our Seals be reacting?" Mitsumi asked, before the Hokage could respond, "they never did for the rest of us."

Raiden shook his head, "I don't know. It could be that Hinata-sama is older than us, it could be that she is the Seventh and thus completes the Guardians. But I can sense her, as I can sense any of you who activate your Seal, if not as clearly."

"Go," Tsunade ordered, "bring her back here, whether she's done something this stupid or not. I am correct in assuming this will kill her?"

Raiden nodded after a moment, "Yes, Hokage-sama. Her Inner Coil is too well developed, too trained. She will not survive having it torn apart and restructured."

"Bring her back here."

------------------------------

Hinata was, indeed, still in the Dojo. She was not, however, unconscious, but kneeling in the center of the building, her jacket pulled tight around her shoulders, apparently meditating. Yondaime's journal was opened before her, and a stack of papers next to it. The brush in her hand shook, apparently uncontrollably, and the stack of marked papers to one side was an untidy heap, but it was apparent she had been working feverishly since they left.

She did not look up when the others entered, but continued shakily writing, even as Raiden crouched in front of her. "Hinata-sama," he said softly as the other five Guardians gathered around, "how are you doing?"

"R...raiden-kun," she whispered back without looking up, voice tight. "A... apologies, I must f... finish my notes."

"You placed the Seal on yourself, didn't you?"

Her head fell a little further. "Y... yes. I... I had to."

"Why?"

"T... to become stronger. To understand h... how you became stronger. How someone else can."

"This is going to kill you, Hinata-sama," he said, staring intently at the top of her head.

Finally, she looked up, and over his shoulders, Anko and Kakashi gasped. She was shaking slightly, and sweat was beaded on her face and neck. Her skin was flushed and the sound of her breath was harsh. The striations of the Byakugan were evident around her eyes, but those eyes were not the pure white they should have been, rather they had become solid black orbs. She forced a weak, quivering smile, and said, "I know. Knew before I did it. But I am not needed, and someone had to do this, someone who knew what it meant had to try it."

"You _are _needed," Kakashi said, "You are the heir to House Hyuuga, a Konoha shinobi. Do you think Shino and Kiba don't need you? Kurenai?"

Hinata shook her head, "Hanabi will inherit. I know you brought her back." her voice dropped to a mutter, "Could feel you return, could see her," one hand brushed the heap of papers to her left, "noted it all down. There are other shinobi, stronger. With this, seven of the strongest ever will serve Konoha. This will help them understand what they do, how to do it better."

"Suicide is not..."

Raiden raised a hand to cut Kakashi off. "What do you feel right now, Hinata-sama? Tingling? Itching? And where?"

"I... I feel tingling... all over." Her hand went to her chest, brushing over her heart, "It itches, here, and... my hand... feels like it's... b... burning." she held out her right hand, clenched into a fist, and on its back, the Seal shone bright blue.

Raiden sighed, nodding, and abruptly turned to his left. "Yohko, do you remember, right after Rumiko released her seal, you mentioned to me there might be a way to _share _the release? Have more than one person carry the strain, use someone else's Inner Coil to maintain another's life while the Seal ran its course?"

She blinked at him in confusion for a moment, "Um, yeah, sort of..." Then she started, a paniced look came over her face, and she held up a hand, "oh, no, Raiden! Don't even think about it! That was idle speculation, I _thought _there might be a way, I've never seriously looked into it! We decided not to let anyone else place the Seal, remember?"

"Someone did anyhow," Raiden replied, gesturing at Hinata "Can you do it?"

"How the hell should I know? I told you I never thought it through!"

Raiden put a hand on her shoulder, "Yohko, if you don't 'think it through', and quickly, Hinata-sama is going to die. Can you do it?"

Anko added, "What about having Tsunade do it? She may be loud, but she's the Hokage for a reason."

Yohko looked over her shoulder at their Jounin for a moment, then back. "If Tsunade helps... maybe." A finger snapped up, cutting off Raiden's interruption. "But not you! Whoever shares the release will be just as likely to die as Hinata-sama. It won't be you, Raiden. I don't care about 'leadership' or 'fairness' or 'strength', we need you alive and intact, so you will _not_ be the one who does this."

"I'll think about it," he replied, "seriously, Yohko. I'll think about it."

"Finally," Anko muttered, "'bout time you kids reached a decision. Yohko, start back to the Hospital, let the Hokage know what we're doing, we'll be along in a bit with Hinata."

"After one more thing," Raiden qualified. He turned back to Hinata, who had ignored the debate to continue with her shaky notes. "Hinata-sama?" she looked up again, strange eyes seeming to stare at all of them. "We may be able to save you, Hinata-sama. But there is a price for our assistance."

Anko grabbed his shoulder, demanding, "What price? You know we need her."

Raiden, staring into Hinata's eyes, answered, "If she will not pay it, we will do nothing to save her."

"The Hell you say," Anko snarled back, pulling him rougly to his feet and spinning him around.

He twisted out of her grip, staring at her. "The price must be paid, Anko-san, she has to swear the same oath we took."

"I still haven't heard it, kid. I'm not about to let someone else take a childish-stupid oath just to save their own life!"

"Anko-san, think about what you know of us. How strong we are. Now, remember how strong you were at our age, and how strong you are now." He quirked an eyebrow at her, "how strong do you think we're going to be when we're as old as you are now? How dangerous? As it is, the only thing binding her to Konoha is an abusive family. I'm surprised she hasn't already betrayed the village just to spite them. But even someone we knew beyond any doubt to be loyal, would still have to swear this oath. The only thing that binds us is ourselves, the only thing that can hold us is our word. The sooner that word is established, the sooner the limits and expectations made clear, the more stable and binding they will be."

"We will not help anyone acquire the Seal without the oath," Juubei said, "not our own flesh and blood, not the Hokage, certainly not a Hyuuga, however much we may respect her as an individual."

Yohko sighed, and moved in beside her leader, "and however skilled, the Hokage can do nothing for her without our active willing cooperation."

Anko was about to argue further, but behind Raiden, he heard, "P... please, Anko-sama. I... I will swear. Their oath ha... hasn't cost them as m... much as they th... think."

"It really isn't that bad, Anko-san," Raiden offered, "but it is required."

"W... what is it," Hinata whispered.

He turned and crouched before her again. After a moment, he held out his right hand, taking hers. "Repeat after me," he ordered. She nodded, squeezing his hand, and he began, "I swear."

She repeated, "I swear," and after that, followed so close they seemed to speak with one voice, "by the blood of my family, upon my own soul, I swear. I will guard this village from harm for the rest of my days and beyond, with all the power I can scrounge. I will use any tactic, any technique I must, to ensure this never happens again, that no enemy, foreign shinobi or traitor, ever damages Konoha so again! I so swear."

"Spirits," Anko whispered, watching the visible chakra surrounding the pair.

"Yohko," Raiden said, "Go to the Hokage. As fast as she's fading, she'll have to release the Seal tomorrow noon at the latest."

"Not enough time," Yohko muttered.

"There are seals," Anko said, "that can slow the body's natural processes, possibly suspend them completely. They may not help here, but ask Tsunade first thing, she'll be able to get one of them set up."

"Hai, Anko-sensei," Yohko nodded, and ran out the door.

Minutes later, with Hinata carried as her sister had been half an hour before, they made their way to the hospital.


	8. 07 Secrets & Seals

**Rise of the Guardians**

By: Daishi Prime

- 7 – Secrets & Seals -

The next two days were a study in contrasts, for Raiden. On the one hand, he had a great deal of stress, dealing with Hinata, the other Guardians, and most especially Hinata's family. On the other hand, when she couldn't convince him not to participate in the release of Hinata's seal, Yohko strictly forbade him from doing anything more strenuous than meditate.

"You'll need every bit of reserves you've got, baka," she told him shortly after Hinata arrived at the hospital, already intensely focused. "Sit! Mediate! Do nothing else!"

Tsunade did, indeed, know of a medical seal that would potentially halt or slow the progress of the Guardians' seal. She delegated Shizune to set it up in one of the hospital's most secure operating rooms, while she and Yohko worked to determine if a shared release was possible. The medical seal was compatible with the Guardian's chakra use, barely, after some modifications by Shizune, allowing them to assist the medic-nins directly in preserving Hinata, but again Raiden found himself excluded. Half a day later, Yohko also pulled Mitsumi from the rotation they had planned, with similar admonishment to 'do nothing.'

Hyuuga Neiji returned from a mission that night, to find news of the attack and the three members of the Head Family in the hospital. It took him until midnight, but eventually, he made his way to the room where Hinata struggled with her seal, outside of which Raiden kept watch. The escalating argument which erupted when Raiden blocked Neiji from entering the operating room eventually drew down Shizune's wrath on both of them, relegating Raiden to the far end of the hall, and Neiji to the waiting area outside his uncle's room.

The next morning proved more difficult. Hyuuga Hiashi was permitted to leave his room, though not the hospital, and while the first place he went was to check on Hanabi, the second was to verify Hinata's condition. Neither Raiden nor Shizune had quite enough chutzpah to deny him entry, even if both his legs and one arm were in casts. The sight which greeted them was not calculated to inspire calm.

The room was as simple as possible, stone floor and walls in a regular square, fifteen feet on a side. Filling most of the floor space, with traceries and anchor lines leading in some cases up the walls, was a massive medical seal. Sitting at two of the cardinal points were a pair of medic-nins, chakra flowing off them in blue waves to enter the seal. Sitting in the opposing pair of cardinal points were Rumiko and Kuma, the flow of chakra from them less stable but also swirling into the center. There, surrounded by the mingled energies, was Hyuuga Hinata, stripped down to her underwear and covered with the last elements of the seal. The pattern of energies swirling around her, steady and regular save around her right hand, was disturbing enough, but the fact that she did not seem to be breathing disturbed Raiden more.

It also apparently disturbed the Hyuuga men, but both were controlled enough not to disrupt those on duty. A brief, hushed conversation with Shizune ensued, while Raiden used hand-signs to confirm with the others that the seal was working, in part. The Guardian Seal was still gathering chakra from Hinata, but its rate of growth had slowed, enough to buy her, and them, a few days. By the time he finished, the Hyuugas were leaving, and Raiden followed.

In the hallway, Hiashi stopped his nephew, and studied Raiden for a few minutes. Returning the favor, Raiden considered the man in front of him. Hiashi was tall, thin and severe in build, dress and manner. Even sitting in a wheel-chair, with three of his limbs unusable, the man radiated a sense of authority, dignity, pride and power. The pale pupil-less eyes helped, as did, no doubt, the decades of training and experience as the leader of his clan.

Hiashi was the first to break the silence. "Shizune informs me you are the leader of the group of Genin who discovered this seal?"

Raiden debated how to answer that, deciding eventually on a combination of truths. "We discovered the Yondaime's journal," he conceded, "which detailed the Seal."

Hiashi was silent for a few moments, eyes narrowed. Raiden could feel the indignation, more clearly from Hyuuga Neiji, at the lack of formalities, but couldn't bring himself to care. He had too many things to worry about at the moment; he needed to vent his stress on something, and Lord Hyuuga appeared to be making himself a good target.

"Then you bear the responsibility for this happening to my daughter," the injured noble stated.

Raiden returned the odd pupil-less stare by considering Hiashi's casts. "Hinata placed the Seal herself. We did not assist, nor encourage her in that. Quite the opposite, actually, we warned her against it."

"You should not have shown her that perversion at all," there was a trace of anger in the man's voice, far more than the ice-cold lord normally displayed.

"The Hokage showed it to her," Raiden clarified, "and directed her to study it. Beyond that, Hinata chose to commit suicide herself. The only ones who pushed her to it were her former family."

Hiashi twitched, even his control failing at that insult, and tried to lunge to his feat. "How dare you? How dare an orphan child..."

Neiji interrupted his uncle, placing a hand on his shoulder. The young Jounin whispered in his uncle's ear, then asked, "What do you mean, 'former' family?"

Raiden looked at the Jounin, and quirked an eyebrow. "As we define such things, she is _our_ sister, now. Whether she survives this trial or not, she is a Guardian now, not a Hyuuga. She placed the Seal and took the Oath of her own free will, just as we did."

Hiashi, once again in control of himself, replied, "She is my daughter, boy, and always will be. Don't ever forget it. There will be an investigation into your 'seal' and this secret cabal you have assembled. When it is over, and you are exiled, Hinata will remain here while we attempt to undue this damage."

"Hinata chose to make herself one of us. You will find that keeping her away from us, or us away from her, is just about impossible. Besides," Raiden felt his expression change, as the thought came to him, into a superior smirk he knew would get him in more trouble, "you owe us a daughter, lord Hyuuga." The man jerked back in his chair, even Neiji flinching with surprise at the sheer effrontery, but Raiden continued, "If we succeed in releasing Hinata's Seal, you will owe us _two _daughters. We will accept Hinata to make good that debt. Aren't you supposed to give of yourselves, that Konoha may prosper? Such is the case here, Hyuuga. You don't want Hinata to inherit, anyhow. You've publicly stated how much stronger Hanabi is, just accept Hinata's departure and make the younger child heir. Everybody wins, and you even get to appear all friendly to magananimous, ne?"

Hiashi was quivering in anger, his nephew not much better. The sheer arrogance of the boy in front of them, the insults of both word and tone, were beyond their experience. He practically snarled as he raised one accusatory finger at Raiden. "Neiji..."

"Will escort you back to your room, Lord Hyuuga," Tsunade interrupted, striding down the hallway. "This is a hospital, shinobi, a place of quiet, rest and healing. I will not have you disturbing the patients here with shouting matches! Idiotic ones at that!" she reached the trio of shinobi, trailed by Sakura and Yohko, the first nervously watching Neiji, the other glaring at Raiden. "Neiji, take him back to his room. Sakura, go with them and handle Lord Hyuuga's discharge paperwork. If he's well enough to come down here and interfere with the people trying to save his daughter's life, he's well enough to go home!"

She waited until the trio had rounded the corner, then turned to Raiden. He caught the shift in motion just in time to raise a barrier, but the backhanded blow still slammed him into the wall hard enough to crack the heavy granite stones. "You, stupid boy, will keep a civil tongue in your head. That man has flaws, but _you _are no saint. At some point, you _may _do something good for Konoha. He has _already _done _great _things for the village, and is the head of one of its most noble and powerful families. Whatever your opinion of him or his family, you will be polite, respectful, and obedient. _Is that clear_?"

"Clear, Hokagae," Raiden replied, "But I will..."

Her fist, still pressed against his barrier, rammed him into the wall again, cutting him off. "You will do exactly what I tell you to, shinobi. You are an idiot child, who happens to have a unique set of skills. Nothing more, and nothing irreplaceable. Challenging the Hyuuga is stupid. The clan owes you for rescuing Hanabi, and will again if you save Hinata. All of that debt will be used to _keep them off your back!_ Anger the Hyuuga, and I won't even try to save you. I have more important things to spend my time and energy on than suicidal brats too arrogant and ignorant to recognize their own limits. Yohko, get Mitsumi, then start setting up the release. I'll be seeing if the Hyuuga will at least wait until this is over before demanding his empty head!"

Tsunade stalked back down the hall, visibly simmering. Raiden shook his head to clear it, stepping out and shaking granite dust off his shirt. He was just turning to Yohko when she slapped him, once, across the face. "Idiot," she said, adding her own assessment to Tsunade's. "I know you're stressed, but Gods, Raiden, we are not ready to take on the Hyuugas! I've told you before, your temper is going to get you killed, and us right alongside you."

"Gomen nasai, Yohko," he said, rubbing his cheek, "but he was already after us. Threatening us because Hinata placed the Seal on herself."

"Then you should've let him threaten! Tsunade was our ally, she would have protected us from any meaningful harm. We have plans for them, Raiden, plans which depend on them not paying attention to us for years yet. Aren't you the one always lecturing Mistumi and Juubei about taking the long view? Giving things a few years to settle out? Don't ruin our plans and hopes just because you're worried about Hinata-sensei."

"Hai, hai," he replied, then changed the subject, "From what the Hokage said, you have something planned?"

Yohko looked like she was considering further lecture, but settled for one more, "Idiot," before explaining, "The woman's a genius, for certain true. She's had even less time than Hinata-sensei to study the Seal, but figured out where I was going with the shared release within a few minutes. We've got something that we think will work, but it will take two of us. One, because you're an obstinate fool, is you. The other has to be female."

Raiden blinked, "Why?"

Yohko stared at him for a second incredulously, eyes widening in disbelief, then she sighed, "Gods and Spirits preserve us, you are so bloody naïve, Raiden. One of them has to be a female because, as you have apparently missed, Hinata-sensei is female. You may have noticed that girls and boys are built a little differently, ne?"

He glared at her. "Yes, little _sister_, I had noticed that. What I meant..."

"Oh, good," Yohko overrode him, "I was beginning to worry about your powers of perception. The release has to include two people, beyond Hinata-sensei. Two girls would be ideal, minimize the differences, but the only two females who carry the Seal of the Guardians are Mitsumi, Rumiko and I. Since I'm going to be running the release, I'm not available."

"And Rumiko will be more use outside," Raiden continued, "helping the medic-nins keep us stable during and after the release."

"Yeah, something like that. So Mitsumi it is, unless she refuses."

"She won't," Raiden said with certainty.

"I know that," Yohko agreed, "But we still have to give her the option to."

Raiden studied her for a second, and decided she wasn't telling him everything, "Out with it, sister. What's the part that's bothering you?"

Yohko sighed, "I wasn't not going to tell you, I just... wasn't sure how." she hesitated a few more seconds, then, "The thing is, the Seal modified more than just our physical forms, Raiden. If you share in Hinata's release, it will affect both of you, as well as her, and not just the drain. The Hokage, Haruno-san and I, we agree that this is the best bet for saving Hinata-sensei, but... we can't predict what's going to happen to you. For all we know, the three of you could come out of there physically one, a single body and mind that incorporates aspects of all three of you. Or it might be nothing. We just don't have any way of predicting it."

Raiden considered for a few moments, then asked, "You think this is the best chance Hinata-sensei has?"

"Yes," Yohko replied softly, "bad as it is, it's the best she's going to get."

"Then we do it."

"I want Mitsumi to sit out maintaining the stasis seal. Same restrictions you're under."

"I'll get her. Go get set up for the release, the sooner we begin this, the better."

------------------------------

Yohko put the last touches on the new seal on Hinata's arm, trying not to worry over the fevered heat or the weird all-black eyes staring at her out of her teacher's sweating face. They had been forced to end the stasis seal in order to prepare Hinata for the release, and the Seal of the Guardians had surged back to strength. From what little they could tell from her fevered appearance and whispered answers, she was as badly off as Raiden had been when he finally released his seal, and that after less than three days.

"Don't release it yet, Hinata-sensei," she said, "not until I tell you."

"Y... yes," Hinata whispered, voice strained.

That done, Yohko began working her way out of the circle, careful of the intricately detailed lines of characters, while Raiden and Mitsumi took up their positions. The three participants were laid out head-to hip, forming a triangle with their right sides inward. Around them, the complicated medical seal Tsunade had created was almost complete, leaving spaces for each of them, and four more at the cardinal points of the compass. Yohko took one of those, checking Juubei, Rumiko and Kuma to be sure they were in the other positions and also ready. While she did, Sakura and Shizune placed the finishing touches on the seal, linking Mitsumi and Raiden with the symbols on the floor.

The seal itself was roughly the same size as the stasis symbol Hinata had endured for a day and a half, and shared the same individual characters, but there the similarities ended. To Yohko, the jerry-rigged and experimental nature of the seal was obvious, with blatant inefficiencies and weaknesses they simply did not have time to iron out.

Finally, the last of the medic-nins retreated, joining the crowd along the walls. That, too, was worse than she had expected. Instead of a few medics, Tsunade and her assistants, there were close to twenty shinobi gathered in the small observation level and along the walls. At Lord Hyuuga's insistence, the release had been moved to the hospital's one operating room which permitted an audience, in order that he could see exactly what was being done for and to his daughter. Tsunade, reluctantly, had allowed it in exchange for Lord Hyuuga's restraint in bringing the matter before the Elders. Even so, those Elders were present now, along with several ANBU members. Tsunade herself was up there with them, instead of on the floor providing her own input and assistance.

Resolutely, Yohko put the distractions aside, and nodded to Raiden. He grinned back, gave her a thumbs-up, and whispered to Hinata. A moment later, shakily, she offered up her left thumb, which he cut with a kunai. The knife was tossed to Juubei, who pocketed it, and then Hinata traced the circle of her Seal on the back of her right hand, softly speaking the words of release. Yohko couldn't hear her, but the words echoed up clearly from her memory, "Guardians, first and always."

The reaction was immediate, an explosion of chakra from her hand, spiraling up her arm to envelope her entire body. Yohko heard the crowd gasp in surprise, but was too busy herself. Her hands found the trigger points, and she shouted, in unison with the other anchors, "Bind and join, Kikai!" Her own chakra poured out, more slowly and better controlled but still as fast as she could manage, mingling with the other anchors as it swept around and in towards the center of the med-seal. Vaguely, through the shifting torrent of blue energy, she saw Mitsumi and Raiden take Hinata's right hand in their own, calling up their own energies, and then the seal completed.

A flash of light, blinding white, washed over her, leaving her blind momentarily. When her eyes cleared, the seal on the floor was gone, replaced with a shimmering ring of blue joining the the four anchors. A single, thicker, line lead from each anchor to the center, where a shifting opalescent dome stood, hiding Mitsumi, Raiden and Hinata from view.

A soft voice at her shoulder, "Yohko-san?"

It took her a moment to respond, juggling the attention necessary to maintain the seal and talk. "Hai, Haruno-san."

"Is... is it working?"

"It appears to be, Haruno-san, but we've never done this before. I cannot sense within the dome."

"Arigato," Sakura replied, before stepping back to report to Tsunade.

More distantly, Yohko heard Lord Hyuuga, "How long?"

Tsunade's answer, typically, was, "as long as it takes, Hiashi-san. This is new and unproven."

"What of the others? Can you not judge from those?"

"Their releases were over in a few moments, to a few hours. Each of them appears to be different, and the release time appears to depend on how much time passes between the placement of the Seal and its release. It will take as long as it takes."

"And how long will those children remain pre-occupied with it?"

"Those _Genin_," Even Yohko could hear the emphasis on their rank, "will remain involved to the very end. That shield must be maintained, until the process within has run its course, and only those four have the capability to maintain it. We can only hope it does not take so long they collapse. There's a distinct possibility that the shield will drain them until they are dead, Hiashi-san. As for the two inside with your daughter, their chances are even worse. There is every chance that they will not survive, and greater chance that they will not come out intact. Quite the risk they're all running, to save your daughter, when by rights they should be doing nothing."

"They were the first to do this, to give the idea to Hinata. Their's is the responsibility for seeing she survives their folly."

Tsunade laughed, "Hinata, despite her manner, is a strong-willed and determined Chunin, with solid medical skills in addition to those of her bloodline and training. A group of Genin, especially fresh from her own classroom, could not have prevented this. I doubt even we could have, given the circumstances." Yohko smiled, admiring the Hokage's form in protecting them by praising Hinata. She would have to tell Raiden when this was over. "Come," Tsunade continued, "Shizune and Sakura will monitor this situation, and report if anything changes."

"I will remain," Lord Hyuuga said, "until my daughter is returned to me."

Behind her, Yohko heard the others filing out, leaving a team of ANBU and Tsunade's two apprentices.

------------------------------

Hours later, as the sun was rising on the fourth day after Hanabi's kidnapping, the shield dissolved. One minute, it was still the shifting multi-hued dome, the next it had faded to a fine mist, and then to nothing. Yohko felt the drain on her chakra suddenly lessen, then cut off completely as the blue anchor lines vanished. The world around her blurred as the strain and effort of maintaining the seal suddenly vanished, and she almost collapsed. Concern for her brother and sisters kept her up, however, and she was only a few steps behind Sakura and Shizune as they rushed forward.

To her relief, there were three people still there, still in the same positions she had last seen them in, and her immediate glance showed no obvious damage. No distortions, or missing parts, no obvious bleeding wounds or broken bones, they looked just as they had when the barrier was first raised. She reached Raiden first, leaving Hinata for Shizune and Sakura, while beside her Rumiko began examining Mitsumi.

The symbols and marks of the binding seal were gone, and aside from a few minor scars Yohko was familiar with, Raiden appeared to be unmarked. His breathing was even, pulse steady, and outwardly he was merely asleep. After her initial check, she looked over at Rumiko and Shizune, confirming from their actions that the others were in much the same condition. The only difficulty in examining them was separating their right hands. Raiden's hand was lowest, Mitsumi's on top, both of them holding tight to Hinata's hand even in unconsciousness. They got the three to let go eventually, and found that the main Seal on each hand was now surrounded by a new set of symbols, the last remnants of the binding.

All three of them stirred at the same time, blinking and shifting, shortly after the med-nins separated them and moved them out of the sealing area onto pallets against the walls. Catching his head, Yohko focused Raiden's eyes on hers and gasped in surprise. His eyes were black, entirely, without iris or white, just as Hinata's had been prior to the release. "R... Raiden?" Distantly, she could hear the others speaking to Hinata and Mitsumi.

"We're fine," he muttered, "jus' tired."

"We'll see," Yohko said, forcing herself to smile. She held up a hand in his line of sight, and asked, "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Six," He said, then shook his head, blinking, "Sorry, two."

The oddity concerned her, but without a pupil to watch, she could not tell if he had a concussion or similar effect. A moment later, he offered spontaneously, "Our eyes are fine, Shizune-san." At first, she thought his voice had echoed oddly, then she twitched and glanced at Rumiko.

Her sister was looking at her, and signed quickly, Mitsumi said it, too.

Looking over to where Tsunade's two apprentices were examining Hinata, with Lord Hyuuga managing to tower over them despite still being in a wheel-chair, she found all three of them looking across the room at herself and Rumiko. After a moment, Sakura asked, "They answered, as well, didn't they?"

"Yes," Yohko answered, "It seems..."

"We're still linked," the three subjects chorused. A moment later, Mitsumi added, "Jinx! Raiden owes me..."

"...a soda," Hinata finished, as Mitsumi started laughing.

Looking down at Raiden, Yohko was surprised to see him grinning slightly. "It'll probably fade," he said.

"After a few days."

"Or weeks."

Yohko whacked Raiden on the head, lightly, "Will you three stop that? One at a time, please."

"Sorry," all three replied.

"How far apart can they be moved," Hiashi asked, considering his daughter and patently ignoring the others.

Shizune, the highest ranking shinobi there, raised a hand, rocking it from side to side, "we can't say, Lord Hyuuga. This is a unique situation. None of them will be leaving the hospital for a few days, at least. Tsunade-sama was quite clear on that. We have prepared separate rooms. As they seem stable, we will take them there now.

"Per Tsunade-sama's orders, they will be given full work-ups, then debreifed. After that, they will be held for several days for observation. Please, Lord Hyuuga, give us room so we may move them."

------------------------------

Hinata was sitting on the bed when Tsunade arrived, in a lotus position, wearing a clean hospital gown and giggling slightly. She couldn't help it. Her own examination had been thorough but quick and respectful. Raiden, however, was proving to be a most uncooperative patient, as was Mitsumi. Their pungent comments, to each other and to her, were too funny not to laugh.

She was distracted enough that she did not notice the Hokage until she had taken a seat next to the bed. She stiffened, then bowed as deeply as she could from the lotus, "Ah... apologies, Hokage-sama, I was... distracted."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, scanning the near-empty hospital room curiously. "By what?"

Hinata couldn't help smiling happily, "By Raiden and Mitsumi, Hokage-sama. They are uncomfortable with the physical examinations. I'm afraid the medic-nins are not being as polite as they were with me." She made a face, "Raiden was quite rude about that."

"You're still...'in touch' with them?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama. I can hear them very well, as if we were talking in the same room. There's a..." she paused, gesturing uncertainly as she searched for the right words, "...feeling to it, a sense of presence." The free hand steadied, pointing at the far wall, "Mitsumi's in the next room. I am fairly sure that if the wall was not there, I would pointing right at her now."

"That could just be the Byakugan," Tsunade offered, "Your eyes have not gone back to normal, yet."

Hinata shook her head, "No, Hokage-sama, it is not the Byakugan. My vision is relatively normal, compared to the Byakugan, though I do have wider peripheral vision than I used to. I have not been able to activate my clan's bloodline limit since I placed the Seal. I think I will be able to, once I adjust to my new abilities, but... not yet."

Tsunade nodded thoughtfully, "Hmm, in that case, why don't you take it from the beginning. Tell me everything that happened after I left the brats' dojo."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Hinata replied. After a moment to gather her thoughts, she began detailing the experience. She could vaguely recall writing most of it down before, but did not ask what had happened to those notes. To Hinata's surprise, the briefing proved easy not due to prior experience from missions, but from having to teach her students. The need to know precise details of activites most shinobi performed instinctively stood her in good stead as she described the subtle alterations made before the release began. Her memory became hazy after Raiden brought her to the hospital, but even then she managed to provide something of a report.

Finally, she reached the point of the binding, and hesitated. "This is... difficult, Hokage-sama," she said finally, "I am... unsure how to describe it. The initial binding I do not remember, the Seal was too painful by then. But, afterwards... things... became... strange. I think... no, I know that I became Raiden, and Mitsumi, and they became me. We were... not one, we still knew ourselves to be separate, but there was nothing... 'in between'... nothing keeping us from each other's thoughts and memories."

Tsunade leaned forward, interrupting, "Do you remember any of that, any of their memories?"

Hinata blinked, pondered the question for a moment, then brought her hands together in a simple seal. The Seal on the back of her hand glowed slightly, and then she vanished, reappearing a moment later. "Ah... I believe so, Hokage-sama. That was..."

"Mitsumi's stealth jutsu, yes?" At Hinata's nod, Tsunade leaned back in her chair again, nodding. "Their thoughts?" Hinata nodded. "Their intentions, plans?" Another nodd. "Good, good. In that case, Chunin, I'd like to ask you again a question I asked a few days ago. Can they be trusted as shinobi of Konoha?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Hinata replied immediately, "I am even more certain of that now than I was then. Mitsumi is more devoted to the Guardians than to Konoha, but only slightly, as any shinobi would feel more attached to their family than to the village. Raiden, though... there is nothing even close to as important to him as Konoha. He is loyal to the Guardians, they truly are his family, but if he must, he will sacrific them for Konoha." She blinked, frowning slightly, "of course, he'll sacrifice himself long before then, but the intent is the same."

"And what of you?"

"My loyalties are as strong as theirs, Hokage-sama..."

Tsunade waved her off, "I meant _their _opinion of _you_."

"O... oh," Hinata responded, looking away for the first time. She blinked, staring at the wall, and could feel herself blushing, slightly. Amazing how different that felt, compared to a few days previously. "I... I think their opinion may have... declined... somewhat." She made a face, and explained, "While we were one mind, for a while, towards the end there we started to separate. We were still... together... but just sort of... in limbo. They, ah, took the opportunity to explain how foolish I had been. At length. In detail." She could hear Tsunade supressing a chuckle, and her blush deepened.

"It was a rather stupid thing to do, Hinata," Tsunade commented.

Hinata smiled, "Thank you for your politeness, Hokage-sama, but 'stupid' does not begin to describe it. As Raiden and Mitsumi explained, at length, in detail. I know I should not have, but it was the only thing which made sense at the time. I had to do something, I could not remain... what I was. Not as weak as I was, too weak to remain the Heir to House Hyuuga."

"You were not weak, Hinata! You may not have been the strongest shinobi, but you were never weak!"

"I was too weak to be the heir to House Hyuuga," Hinata repeated. "I may have had strength, as you say, but it was not the right kind, the willpower and self-control necessary. Now," she laughed, a little breathlessly, "now, I have the strength, but the House will probalby expell me. Certainly remove me from the position of Heir. Ironic, ne?"

"Don't be so quick to predict your family's actions," Tsunade cautioned her.

"Father has insisted on an investigation into the Guardians, yes?"

Tsunade blinked, "How did you know about that?"

"I know of Raiden's confrontation with him, and I know my father." She paused, and finally looked at the Hokage again, "you should have hit Raiden harder, Hokage-sama. He was rather stupid himself in that."

"He was worried, about you."

"Paniced, actually," Hinata replied. "They have plans, long-range plans, and I figure in them. If I die, those plans are all for naught and the Guardians will move against the Hyuuga." Tsunade's eyes widened, but before she could speak, Hinata continued, "I said I know my father, and he will insist on an investigation into the Guardians, before the Elders. That will become a trial, of their theft of the journal, and their illicit experimentation on themselves. At the least, they will face long years of probation and lifetimes of distrust. At worst, the Elders will order them executed. Either way, I will stand with them, and the Clan will not accept an heir with that stigma."

Tsunade was silent for a time, and Hinata waited. She knew Tsunade had her own concerns, both for the Guardians and for House Hyuuga, and now she, Hinata, was standing in between the two, with the potential to influence both, yet declaring loyalties to only one of the two. She doubted Tsunade would understand, however, just how thoroughly the binding had changed her.

Finally, the Hokage sighed, "You seem to have matured a great deal in just a few days, Hinata. Lord Hyuuga has, indeed, demanded a formal inquiry. The Elders and I will hear evidence in a few days, after the three of you are judged well enough to release from the hospital. You will be called to present evidence, both of what you observed before you took on the Seal, and on your current condition. I'm afraid I'll have to keep you separate from the kids, at least until the hearing, but if you need anything else, Shizune or Sakura will be on hand at all times."

"I understand, Hokage-sama. If I could have the notes I took while waiting for the others to return with Hanabi, I would like to complete them. Also, I have a few more observations, and would like to put my thoughts in order before the hearing."

"Certainly, Hinata," Tsunade agreed. A few more pleasantries, and the Hokage was gone, off to carry on with her duties as Konoha's leader.

'_Keep us apart. That's a laugh.'_ Raiden's voice echoed in her mind, causing her to smile.

_'Urusai, Raiden,'_ Mitsumi replied, _'she hasn't had to deal with anyone like us before.'_

_'She'll figure it out quickly, though,'_ Hinata countered, _'she is not Hokage for her looks.'_

Hinata could sense Mitsumi's grin, even without being able to see her. _'Even when she does, she probably won't do anything. Might make people more nervous.'_

_'True,'_ Raiden said, _'however, the Hokage is on our side, as much as anyone can be. It is the Elders and Lord Hyuuga we must concern ourselves with. Let us plot and scheme, girls, and salvage what we can from this.'_


	9. 08 Hearings & Heroes

**Rise of the Guardians**

By: Daishi Prime

- 8 – Hearings & Heroes -

Despite Tsunade's efforts to keep the situation quiet, too many people knew the details of the situation, and too many more knew something strange was going on. The Elders' attempts to quietly question those few who knew the six Genin in question, or their situation, soon had rumors flying through the village. By the time the Elders were ready for the formal hearing, they were forced to make it a public hearing, instead of the quiet private affair Tsunade had originally intended. While they did limit attendance to ranking Jounin, the village's nobles, and the Guardian's families, it still required the largest space available, and rather than hold it in the Exam Arena, Tsunade opened the Hokage's Tower's Great Chamber, normally reserved for receiving the highest of nobility.

When Raiden and the others were finally led into the chamber, it was packed to the walls with shinobi, save for two small areas. The first was a line of five chairs on the dais at the back of the chamber, occupied by Tsunade and the four Elders. To one side was a small roped off area, facing the Elders with the back to the audience, into which Raiden and the others were led. A small open stretch of floor ended in seating, divided by two aisles into three groups, where the most important observers were seated. The Hyuuga's occupied one section of the front row themselves, and Raiden took a moment to confirm that Hinata was sitting next to her father. The other front row seats were filled with the other Guardians' families, along with Kakashi and Anko. Even Yohko's step-father had shown for the event.

There was a hum of quiet conversation when they were brought in. It tapered off as they walked to the area set aside for them, then picked up again. The attention bothered him greatly, he could feel his neck crawling. They had spent the last four years avoiding notice, and now what felt like the entire population of the village was staring at him.

He responded as he usually responded to his own fear. His face and spine stiffened in like degree, and he ignored the crowd, walking to his assigned place with as unhurried and calm a stride as he could manage. In the back of his mind, he could feel Mitsumi, and knew that, a few steps behind him, she was trying to glare down the entire room simultaneously. From experience, he knew that Kuma would be matching his own uncaring appearance, Juubei would be studying the crowd somewhat less agressively than his sister, and Rumiko and Yohko would be sublimely indifferent to it.

Surprisingly, however, he could not sense anything from Hinata. Over the preceding days, their link had faded and settled to a point where they were almost wholly separate, but they were still easily able to communicate. The closer they were physically, the easier it was, and as close as Mitsumi was following him it would have been difficult not to read her, but he should have been able to feel something from Hinata.

_She's figured out a way to block the link,_ he sent to Mitsumi.

_'Bout time you realized that, dobe,_ Mitsumi answered, _that's what she's been working on most since she talked to Tsunade._

_I knew what she was working on, I just didn't realize she was this good at it. Remind me after this is over to ask her how she does it._

He could feel Mitsumi's amusement, _What's the matter, Rai-chan, uncomfortable with two girls reading your mind?_

He almost answered, but decided to let it slide. Mitsumi's temper had become even more uncertain over the last few days, and if the explosions were less violent than previously, this was not the time for _any _violence. So he passed the final few yards in silence both physical and mental.

The six of them were lined up in front of the first row of chairs, a few feet between them and the audience. The pair of shinobi guards who had escorted them in took up positions at either end and just behind. A moment later, Raiden sensed motion beside him and, glancing over, saw Anko standing next to him. A glance the other way showed Kakshi standing at that end of their line.

One of the Elders leaned forward, "Mitarashi-san, Hatake-san, please return to your seats. This hearing is not considering your actions."

Anko stepped forward slightly and bowed, "Respectfully, Elder Saido, these Genin are our teams, and any decision you make concerning them must include their time under our authority."

He considered for a moment, then nodded. "Very well," he said, then leaned back and turned to say something to Tsunade, but was interrupted.

Raiden heard Lord Hyuuga's whispered, "Hinata!" just before he heard she asked, "Ano, Anko-san? Can you please move over a little more?" The Jounin blinked, then grinned maniacally and stepped back, gesturing extravegantly for Hinata to take her place.

"Hyuuga Hinata," Tsunade said, "You have even less reason to be standing there than Anko and Kakashi."

_Go back to your seat, Hinata-sensei,_ Raiden sent, _this is our fight._

"Apologies, Hokage-sama," Hinata said, bowing deeply, "but I have more reason than they, not less." Mentally, her only answer was a surprisingly curt, _urusai._ "If these Genin's time under Anko and Kakashi must be considered, so must the two years they spent in my class. That is not relevant, though, as this hearing concerns the actions of these Genin in acquiring the Seal of the Guard of Seven. Since I, too, possess that seal, I am just as much under consideration here as they."

_Your father is going to have a fit, Hinata._

_He has already 'had a fit,'_ she replied. _He has also spent two days arguing with me concerning both the seal and this hearing. Strange, though. For the first time I can recall, he has argued with me, rather than simply ordering._

_Rather strange. At the moment, however, he is right._ Aloud, he said, "Elders, all due respect to Hinata-sensei, however she is not involved in this hearing as it was explained to me, and should not be here. Our actions four years ago are being judged here, not those of the past weeks. I would appreciate it if she was returned to her place in the audience."

He could feel Mitsumi's surprise, and knew the others were looking at him as well, but he only stared at Tsunade, watching one blonde eyebrow rise higher and higher. Elder Saido beat her to the punch, however, asking, "What of Anko and Kakashi, boy? Shouldn't we ask them to take a seat, if we send off Lady Hyuuga?"

_What are you doing, Raiden?_ Hinata was no less surprised than Mitsumi.

Raiden noded in acknowledgement, "Of course, Elder." He allowed himself a slight grin, "however, I am not so bold as to attempt to give an order to a Jounin placed in direct command of me. While Hinata-sensei was our teacher at the Academy, she is not any longer, Anko and Kakashi are our assigned team leaders." _Trying to keep one of us safe and free to act,_ he sent back to Hinata. It was more than a little confusing, trying to carry on two conversations at once.

Another Elder leaned forward, "You do understand, son, that their presence helps your case? Frankly, you should be welcoming their support with enthusiasm."

_What she said,_ Mitsumi sent.

Hinata echoed her, _you need all the help we can get, Raiden. The Elders will not be too harsh with the heir of House Hyuuga._

"I am aware of that, Elder," he said allowed, "however their presence here is unnecessary and may be misconstrued. None of them had anything to do with the Seal until we graduated the Academy, so they really should not be standing here."

Tsunade held up a hand, stilling Saito's response. "Unfortunately, Raiden, this hearing does concern Hyuuga Hinata directly, and your Jounin as well. It was called to consider your actions, yes, but also the Seal and what Konoha is to do with those who bear it. If Hinata and your senseis wish to stand beside you in this, they will be permitted to do so."

Raiden bowed, acknoweldging the defeat, "Yes, Hokage-sama."

_You should've known she would let us stay,_ Hinata sent.

_Worth a try. The less involved you are, the safer you are._

Tsunade stood, crossed her arms, and began pacing in front of the Elders. She addressed them, while her attention was turned to the crowd. "This hearing was called at the request of Lord Hyuuga Hiashi to consider the actions of these six Genin four years ago, and their continuing deception through the present day. It will also consider their current capabilities, their status as Konoha Genin, and their future in the village.

"Any decisions in this matter will be made by myself, as Hokage, and the Elders. We will be hearing, in the course of this assembly, from several sources concerning these Genin, including their own statements. Because of the number of witnesses, and the fact that whatever decision we come to will have repercussions for all of Konoha, I have permitted this hearing to be a public one. That does not mean, however, that I will stand for outbursts, either from the Genin in question or members of the audience. The Elders and I will conduct the questioning, we will recognize any speakers, and anyone disrupting the proceedings will be summarily banned. If the one being banned is an active shinobi, I will find the most disgusting and demeaning D-rank mission I can for them, as additional punishment.

"That being said," she had reached her own seat again, and sank down into, "Lord Hyuuga Hiashi. As the accusor, your's is the right to speak first."

Lord Hyuuga, mobile thanks to both the medic-nins' skills and his own fortitude, stood carefully and moved forward. His wounded arm was still in a sling, and it was obvious from the weight on his cane that his legs were still far from perfect, but his fast recovery was still impressive. "Hokage-sama," he said, bowing sligthly and stiffly, "Elders. My apologies for interrupting your normal duties as I have, but I believe this matter to be of gravest import to Konoha. Several days ago, after my youngest child was kidnapped, I became aware that these Genin have placed upon themsleves, and upon my eldest daughter and heir, a seal of terrible purpose and power."

_I told him I placed it on myself,_ Hinata complained.

_He will not accept that,_ Raiden sent back.

_Not if ignoring it lets him hammer us,_ Mitsumi agreed.

Hinata shook her head slightly, _No, Father is proud, but not blind. He is up to something._

_Getting back at us... me more specifically,_ Raiden offered. He had been regretting his loss of control with Lord Hyuuga days before, and as the Lord's opening speech rolled on, that regret sharpened.

Lord Hyuuga took almost an hour to lay out what he had discovered of the Guardians, including the general effect of the Seal, the Guardian's public history, and even some private things, such as the theft of the Yondaime's journal. Listening, debating points of the speech with Hinata and Mitsumi mentally, Raiden was actually rather impressed. Despite his personal interest in the matter, Lord Hyuuga maintained a solid control, a strong impression of impartiality and concern for Konoha. At one point, he even managed to express concern for the six Genin with a straight face, although Hinata argued that the sentiment was genuine enough.

Finally, he wound down, having offered several scrolls of written statements from people he or his people had interviewed over the intervening days. After having a clerk take the scrolls aside, Tsunade thanked him politely, then turned to Raiden. "Since you seem to be the ringleader in this," she said after a moment, "suppose you explain your actions, in detail."

Raiden stepped forward, leaving the others behind, and bowed, "Yes, Hokage-same. The matter at hand began approximately four years ago, a few days after the attack on Konoha by the Hidden Village of Sand. In the course of that attack, I lost my entire family, though neither of my parents were shinobi. My friends also lost family members. At the time, we were still new to the Academy, and no one was telling the children of the village much of what was being done to secure it. This was prior to your arrival, Hokage-sama, prior, even, to the Sandaime's funeral. With no information save that our families had been devestated and our village terribly damaged, I decided that I would dedicate my life to preventing it from ever happening again.

"Even at the time, however, I understood that the forces involved in that attack were far beyond what most shinobi are capable of. Thus, I had to determine a way to increase my capacities. Some years before this, my uncle, who was both a shinobi and a clerk for the Hokage, spoke to my father concerning the Yondaime's journals. Specifically, he believed there to be a code of some sort embedded in the last few journals detailing a great new technique the Yondaime had been working on just before his death. My uncle assisted the Yondaime in that time, and I took his words as truth.

From there, Raiden told the history of the Guardians as succinctly as possible. He provided the barest details, the fewest names, and as much as possible nothing more than bare facts. He had spent days preparing himself for it, and all in all was rather impressed with how little it gave away while still covering the basic situation. Finally, he came to the present day, relating their discovery by Anko, Hinata's involvement, and ending with the departure in pursuite of Hanabi's kidnappers.

After a few moments, Elder Kaito leaned forward in her chair. "Your honesty is impressive, young man," she began, "it does you and your friends credit. But it also makes clear to me certain flaws in your own personality. You are aware of just how dangerous all the Hokages' journals are considered, yes?" At his nod, she added, "You knew then, as well?" Another nod, and she asked, "So you admit to knowingly stealing one of the most dangerous writings in Konoha. That is quite the crime, especially for one so young. What do you expect the punishment to be?"

Raiden studied her for a moment, thinking quickly. His responses to Tsunade's request, weeks before in the hospital, while accurate enough, were too likely to be carried out under this context. So he hedged. "Theft of a single book is minor, though admittedly the subject matter of this one is more important than most. In the same line, the journal was returned within days, and until my confession to the Hokage, its theft remained undiscovered. However, I still violated the security and created a potential for the journal's contents to be released into circulation, by copying it. Exile might be an option, except that by doing that, the journal would definitely enter circulation, and no shinobi can be exiled. A prison term would probably fit, several years worth."

"You would not recommend a death penalty? For stealing something only a short step below the Forbidden Scrolls?"

"No, Elder. Execution might be appropriate had I inflicted harm on another Konoha villager, but since I have done no such thing, it would be too extreme. Vindictive, rather than just. I discount the harm to my brothers and sisters, because they agreed to bear the Seal in full understanding of how painful the process was."

She raised an eyebrow, and looked like she wanted to ask something else. Elder Saido touched her arm, however, and she yielded to him. Narrow face set in a curious expression, he leaned back, saying, "I've noticed something in your commentary, young man, and I'd like to ask you about it. You are quite blatant about sharing credit for what you and your... friends accomplished, but you claim to have taken all the risks yourself. Did you really think we would not notice? Our investigation has been quite clear that all six of you do everything together."

Raiden shook his head, "Almost everything, Elder. The original plan and the theft of Yondaime's journal were entirely my idea and execution. Thus, the only real crime is mine, not theirs. As to the accomplishments, I am no genius, to read such a book and single-handedly understand and use it. I could not have placed the Seal on myself without their help in understanding it."

Saido waved aside the last few comments, "So they are accomplices after the fact. Before the fact if they knew what you were going to do and did not stop you."

"You are assuming they had any reason to believe I stole the book in the first place."

Saido waved that aside, "Altering your own natures and hiding that alteration from your families and teachers? I should think that would be a rather blatant clue that what you were doing was wrong. Even if, as you propose, they did not know you stole the journal in the first place, which I doubt, they should have realized what you were doing flew in the face of Konoha's laws."

"Every clan with its own techniques does the same thing, Elder. From the Hyuuga and Uchiha clans' bloodline limits, to the more common but still secret techniques of the Yamanakas and Aburame clans, every family in Konoha has secret techniques which 'alter their nature', techniques whose training and creation are hidden from the rest of the village. I doubt you really know what goes into waking a Hyuuga's Byakugan, for instance."

Saito frowned, shaking an admonishing finger, "Those are good families, Genin. Established clans with proven techniques developed over lifetimes by expert shinobi. You are a group of friends who decided to play with something far beyond your abilities for no better reason than your own arrogance!"

"The Seal was created by one of the most skilled shinobi of the past four decades. Would you question the Yondaime's skills and expertise? Would you question his right to create a new technique and test it? His journal makes clear that he had developed a testing program, and only lacked someone ot test it on. We followed that program, as best we could without him there to watch us. The only reason he did not do it himself was the Kyuubi's attack. He had yet to determine if a suitable test subject existed when the Demon Fox attacked the village, and he gave his life to seal it away." Raiden felt his face hardening into a glare, as he continued, "as to family, these six are my family, Elder, do not ever make the mistake of thinking they are not. They are my brothers and sisters, as surely as if we were born of the same parents, regardless of bloodline. Even Hinata is now my sister, and what we choose to keep within our family, stays within our family."

_I think you're laying it on too heavy,_ Hinata sent suddenly, distracting him.

_That's Raiden,_ Mitsumi replied to both of them, _jealous and possessive to a fault. I pity any boy I ever take an interest in, Raiden'll be worse than my father, I bet._

Grumbling internally, Raiden asked, _Will you two let me be?_ "I admit to arrogance, Elder, what person can honestly say they have not been arrogant in their life? I'm still arrogant – I am firmly convinced that, if this hearing results in an execution order, I can get most of my family out of Konoha, possibly all of it. As far as this hearing, however, the only people who were placed at risk by my arrogance were myself and my family."

"But you put them at risk for no reason. Not good judgement on the part of a shinobi," Tsunade commented, before Saido could continue.

"I know that, now. At the time, even until shortly after I placed the Seal, I still believed that the shinobi of Konoha would not be able to defend the village through traditional means. Remember, Hokage-sama, that even after you took up your duties, the village remained under threat. Your arrival only reduced the urgency I felt, so I continued. Given the same information, I would do it again."

The questioning continued, sometimes friendly, sometimes hostile, but always thorough. To his surprise, the Elders appeared completely disinterested in the details of the Seal itself, or its capabilities. Rather they spent the entire time questioning his decisions, and those of the other Guardians, why they chose one option over another, why they moved faster or slower, what their reasoning was. Finally, almost two hours later, Tsunade waved him back into line, and Yohko was called forward.

The smallest of the Guardians moved forward, bowed, and said simply, "Raiden speaks for all of us, Hokage-sama. I have nothing to add to his statement." She moved back before Tsunade or the Elders could react, and was followed in turn by Mitsumi, Juubei, Tanaka and Rumiko. All five of them refused to answer questions beyond repeating what Raiden had already stated.

Over the next several hours, the Elders heard statements from the Guardians' surviving family members. Here, the testimony varied, from the support of Tanaka's father and Yohko's mother, to Rumiko's mother's worried comments on 'detrimental influences'. To Raiden's surprise, Yohko's step-father, whom neither of them had ever particularly cared for, spoke in their defense. "They're quiet kids, reserved and secretive, but they'll do what they say they will, and what they're told to, if they recognize the authority. And they do recognize the Hokage's authority."

Finally, just as he became convinced she would not be called, the Hokage dismissed the last witness, and waved Hinata forward. There was a soft whisper of comments from the crowd, as the Hyuuga heir stepped forward, quickly dying away.

_Please, Hinata-sensei,_ he sent silently, _be very careful._

_Relax, Raiden-kun,_ she responded as she bowed to the assembled Elders, _for a change, I know what I am doing._ "Hokage-sama. Elders. As you know, from other testimony, I was given a mission three weeks ago, to assist Mitarashi Anko and Hatake Kakashi in their study of the Guardians. This, in turn, lead me to place the Guardian Seal on myself approximately one week ago. What you have not yet been told, is that I survived that experience solely through the skill and self-sacrifice of the Guardians. With the Hokage's assistance, Iraisen Yohko devised a seal to share the burden of my Guardian Seal. Kodachi Raiden and Mitarashi Mitsumi risked their own lives within that seal, while the others risked their lives to power it." She paused for a moment, gaze floating over Raiden and Mitsumi. "Think about that, Elders. In a few days, Yohko created an entirely new Seal to modify one of the Fourth Hokage's greatest, and all six members of this group risked their own lives for that of one other shinobi. That level of excellence, and that spirit of comraderie, are what makes Konoha great, what has always made Konoha strong, allowed us to survive wars, enemies, and treachery. Konoha shinobi will go to great lengths for each other without hesitation. We are teams, we are comrades, and we are family. These six Genin have demonstrated this, not just in their efforts to preserve my life, but all the way back to four years ago, when Raiden stole the Yondaime's journal.

"Four years ago, they risked their lives and their very souls to make themselves stronger. Not for power, not for glory – for Konoha's protection. They took on the Guardian Seal, learned to control it, and still managed to pass their Academy classes. They sacrificed more of their childhood than any save the greatest of shinobi, and did so completely on their own initiative, with no overbearing parents or weighty family tradition to live up to. All this speaks quite clearly to me of their worth as shinobi.

"Think of this, also. Three years ago, they placed the seal on themselves, again without any outside assistance. One of the Yondaime's most complicated techniques, and they managed to use it at that young age. Afterwards, they not only managed to pass their lessons at the Academy, but develop their own suite of techniques taking advantage of the Guardian Seal, and keep that Seal a secret from older, wiser and more skilled shinobi. For three years they kept that secret, learned entirely new styles of ninjutsu and genjutsu, and simultaneously held themselves to the Academy's rigorous standards. No, their grades at the Academy were never particularly good, but the Academy's minimum passing standards are quite demanding, more than enough for most students. Raiden has claimed, repeatedly, that neither he nor his siblings are geniuses, but I say that he is, they are. To manage those three tasks, for so long, is incredible. Especially as none of them have any bloodline limit to ease their way, no great clan history as shinobi to inspire and guide them, and they relied on no one save themselves.

"I was their teacher for two years, and I freely acknowledge that they fooled even me. I never knew they were anything more than what they pretended to be. I knew their personalities, in general, but not their true capabilities. Over these last weeks, however, I have come to know them much better, and can honestly say that they are amongst the most dedicated and loyal shinobi in Konoha. I took the Guardian Seal because I felt it necessary, someone with a practiced understanding of chakra control had to experience it. I did this in the full expectation that it would kill me, for the journal was quite clear on that point. Only the Guardians' skill and loyalty saved my life. That was the last step, the last piece of evidence I needed. I have experienced most of what they have, seen what they are like at work and at rest, and I can honestly say that I take more pride in hearing them call me 'sister' than in anything else in my life.

"They have done all of this for Konoha, for us. Yes, Raiden took the journal without permission, but he returned it unaltered. A minor concern in the face of his accomplishments since, and the others were never party to that. Yes, they attempted a new and dangerous technique, but while I recommend it be added to the list of forbidden techniques, it is not yet on that list, and was not when they attempted it. What they did was not wrong, merely dangerous. It was no different from any other Genin learning the secret techniques of their family, dangerous though those can be.

"Elders, the decision is yours to make, whether these Genin will be allowed to continue in Konoha. But think on what they have accomplished and why they did it. Think what an asset they could be to Konoha. Think on the skills they have demonstrated, the willpower and dedication. Finally, remember, even if you decide to banish them, they, and I, will continue with our goal of defending Konoha, and you will have no influence over us, then. Let us stay, as shinobi, and take advantage of the skills and knowledge we have, as you do with all other shinobi."

The silence was deafening whenshe fell silent. The crowd and Elders remained silent as Hinata bowed and stepped back to stand beside Raiden. For his part, Raiden simply stared at her, unable to decipher what he was feeling. He was honored that she had spoken, especially with such praise, in their support, and even more pleased that she had publicly counted herself as one of the Guardians. On the other hand, she had placed herself squarely in opposition to her father, and publicly placed herself with the Guardians, letting herself in for a full measure of the Elders' judgement. The fact that she continued to hide her mind from him only made his confusion and uncertainty worse. He glanced sideways for a moment, and was surprised that, stoic as he looked, Lord Hyuuga appeared to be smiling, slightly.

Finally, Tsunade stood, giving Hinata a quizzical look, "Did you really just say, 'let _us _stay', Hinata? You would go that far, join them in death or exile if that is the decision of the Elders?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama," Hinata replied, "I carry the Seal. I _am_ one of the Guardians. Your judgement on them is a judgement on me."

"Very well, then, Hyuuga Hinata," Tsunade said, straightening to her full, impressive height. "Anko, Kakashi, as they are your teams, you are charged with their custody. Until such time as we make our decision, they are not to leave your presence, or this village. Understood?"

The two Jounin, skilled slackers that they were, both nodded, Anko throwing in a negligant flip of her hand. "Of course, Hokage-sama, it'll be a vacation. Sort of."

Tsunade's attention turned to Raiden. "The six... seven of you are to remain confined and sequestered. Until we render our decision, you go nowhere and do nothing without direct orders from Anko or Kakashi. We will reach a decision by noon, tomorrow. Dismissed."


	10. 09 Missions & Mortals

**Rise of the Guardians**

By: Daishi Prime

- 9 – Missions & Mortals -

Studying the village below, the small buildings clustered tightly about a well amidst the rice fields, Raiden had to admit that things were going better than he had expected. Crouched in a tree two miles from the farming village, near the western border of the Fire country, the scene below him was remarkably calm. He could see no sign that the village's inhabitants suspected his presence, or the presence of his companions.

"This is taking too long," Yohko whispered, from the next tree over, "they were supposed to be on their way out before sunrise."

Raiden grinned, safe in the knowledge that she couldn't see him through the leaves, and replied, "Which is only a few minutes gone. Relax, Yohko. They're fine."

"The link again? You think just because you can't sense them in pain they're fine?"

"Sort of," Raiden agreed, "but more like because at the moment I can see what Mitsumi is 'seeing'. And she is not in danger." He flushed a little, "though her choice of distractions leaves something to be desired."

"Hentai," Yohko muttered back. "What are they doing?"

"Mitsumi's leaving dirty jokes on the guards they disable. Other than that, they're avoiding detection, like the good shinobi they are," Raiden answered, "like we're supposed to be doing."

Yohko subsided, resuming her own scan of the surrounding area. For a few more minutes, they remained silent in their trees, watching and waiting. They had been in the same place for most of the night, after the others began infiltrating the village, and despite Yohko's comments, Raiden was surprised the others were only a little late.

Raiden whistled once in warning, when Mitsumi showed him the situation changing, pulling his attention back wholly within himself as he passed the warning on to Yohko. The first outward sign of trouble was a lone figure bolting out of one of the more substantial buildings on the village's central 'square'. Indistinct with distance, it ran to the tower placed over the well, scrambled up the ladder, and began madly pounding on the metal plate suspended there. The farmers stopped in their progress, turning back towards the village in curiosity. Raiden and Yohko, still invisible in their trees, tensed and began checking their gear and immediate vicinity one final time.

Moments after the alarm was sounded, two more figures broke from the largest building in the village, apparently the Headman's house. Unlike the first figure, these two ran with the hunched-over speed and chaotic course of shinobi. They also headed from the village towards the woods. Both were anonymous in black jumpsuits and gray vests, hoods and face-masks pulled up to conceal their faces. Raiden recognized the two anyhow, having seen both of them enter the village several hours earlier.

As the two shinobi charged out of the village, the farmers began running as well. Showing the intelligence of their breed, they fled for the fields and out of the two figures' line of travel. Whether they knew what was going on or not, they were smart enough to know that it was too dangerous for them. Shortly after that, they were proven right when a round dozen other shinobi came boiling out of the Headman's house in pursuit.

"Little more than we expected," Yohko commented.

"No problem," Raiden countered, "We're just supposed to fake them out, remember?"

"More people are harder to delay than fewer people."

"We'll manage. Swing further left, across the lane. We'll pincer them where it enters the trees, then run in opposite directions, ne?"

"Don't like splitting up," Yohko complained, though she complied readily.

"For a few minutes, at most."

"Juubei'd be better at this, get more of them at once."

"Juubei's on his way to the Sand Village, won't be back for days. We're doing this now. We don't even need to hurt them, remember? Just hold them up for a few seconds and get them good and riled."

"So they'll chase us all the way home?"

"That'd be rather stupid of them," Raiden commented, "but if they want to be that obliging of us, fine by me."

They settled into position, and moments later the first two out of the village passed them. Raiden felt the fleeting mental acknowledgement of their presence from Mitsumi and Hinata, and replied in kind. Then he and Yohko stepped into the path, tossing double-handfuls of shuriken back down it at the crowd of pursuing ninjas. None of the small weapons hit, however the pursuers scattered and went to ground almost immediately, pausing to judge this new threat.

He and Yohko, in contrast, were already moving. He broke south, away from the road and the village, heading into the woods on a course as evasive as he could manage. It wasn't long before the sounds of pursuit came, and he guessed three of the foreign shinobi had been detailed to follow him. Not as many as he had hoped, but better than the 'none' he had feared. That was soon reduced to two, as several of the simple traps he and Yohko had laced around the trail caught one, probably not killed, but injured enough, from the sound of it, to be out of the chase.

He sent chakra through and around his legs, boosting his speed slightly, but mostly securing his footing. The forest floor here was damp with morning dew and moss, and when he took to the trees he expected their branches to be worse. His was the longest course, looping west then north to rejoin the trail several kilometers away. It would take him a while to make the rendezvous, but the other pursuers would slow his siblings more than the distance would slow him. Now he just had to either shake or eliminate the two shinobi following him.

------------------------------

It took him perhaps five minutes to determine that shaking them would be too difficult to manage in the time available. While they had trouble keeping him in sight, they were too close and too fast for him to pause long enough to lay a false trail, and none of the Guardians had yet figured out how to make a clone substantial enough to mislead a pursuit.

Which left fighting. Again, he was handicapped by how closely they were following him. He did not have the time to set traps, and if he stopped to wait, they would be on him before he could get set, with advantages in numbers and momentum. _Compromise_, he thought to himself, _reel them in slow, then surprise them._

Suiting action to plan, he began gradually slowing down, just enough that the pursuing shinobi were closing, instead of holding steady, just like a flagging Genin running out of stamina. While he waited for them to reach range, his hands began flowing through the patterns he and Hinata were developing, twisting his chakra about himself in preparation.

The pursuers were canny. They closed to long range, just within throwing distance for kunai, but didn't waste the effort. Instead, they continued to close, spreading out slightly to pincer him. They came up, sliding into his range of vision, and with about sixty feet between him and them, attacked with simultaneous kunai.

_Traditional opening move_, Raiden thought. He twisted in flight, trying as best he could to imitate the spin Urashima had used to avoid his kunai in the Genin exam. He wasn't as fast as the Chunin, but he also wasn't trying for a catch. Chakra swirled around his hands as they spun faster than his body, leaving briefly visible wakes in the air, wakes which the kunai struck and deflected off of.

A moment later, Raiden hit a tree feet-first, knees flexing to absorb the impact, and flipped away as the two shinobi came in after him. One hit the tree seconds after he left it, vicious kick cratering the wood and spraying splinters everywhere. The other caught a branch and re-directed his flight in pursuit. He and Raiden hit the ground simultaneously, within a foot of each other, and both lunged to the attack.

Raiden came out of a crouch with a full power round-house punch, trying for a fast disable. The foreign shinobi had both hands together, bringing them down at Raiden's head in a combined blow, probably with the same intent. For a split second, Raiden had an amused thought that they would take each other out. He knew he was too slow to abort his own attack now and dodge, and his opponent didn't seem to be moving either. At the last second, however, the shinobi bent his knees, snapping his torso back, sending Raiden's fist through empty air.

Riding the momentum, Raiden continued the twist, bringing his opposite foot up and around in a reverse kick, his hands already coming up in preparation for more strikes. Kuma's father had ground this approach into him for years now – relentless assault. "You're smaller than Tanaka, but you're not as fast as the girls, or Juubei," Sato-sama had explained, soon after agreeing to teach them. "You don't have the strength for one blow to do the job, or the speed to wait and pick your moment. You have to be relentless, merciless, a constant string of attacks, one after the other, without pause or hesitation. Make your next attack before the first finishes, _especially _if the first misses. Give your opponent time to get a strike in against you, and you are finished."

Now, he followed through on that. His kick flashed through empty air as well, as his opponent converted a bend into a backwards roll. The range opened too much for fists, so Raiden launched a pair of bolts, the packets of hardened chakra launching in rapid succession. His opponent's eyes widened in surprise, and he tried to repeat his roll, dodging one, but the second caught him halfway through, the impact causing him to grunt in pain and tumble awkwardly to the ground.

Raiden was on him before he could regain his feet, a flurry of blows that were only clumsily and partially blocked. Even then, however, Raiden was loosing his focus. _Where's the other one_, he thought, trying to both scan the area and keep his first opponent pinned. Four strikes later, he got his answer.

He landed a kick good enough to stun the foreign shinobi, knocking him on his back, and was reversing for a hard stomp to the man's exposed throat when a whisper of sound gave him a split second's warning. He released his supporting knee, dropping straight down in a weak imitation of an axe-kick instead of the more powerful strike he had intended, as a powerfully muscled leg swept through the space his head had occupied. His kick landed, drawing another grunt and apparent limpness, but Raiden was lunging up and away before he could evaluate the damage.

Unlike his first opponent, he did not try for range on the ground, but vertical clearance. A shove of the hands to return upright, he managed to block a weak return kick, and then he leapt, almost straight up, to a tree branch in convenient reach. His feet were just touching down when he heard a voice shouting, "Stone Dervish!" A second later, the tree branch, and most of the tree, was shredded from beneath him, while something dark brown and fast slammed past him, blowing him sideways in an uncontrolled tumble.

Instinct brought his hands around, kata substituting for seals, and he wrapped his chakra tight around himself, forming the first barrier he had ever learned. He still managed to land on his feet, mostly, sliding several yards along the ground before he fetched up against a tree, or rock. He could not tell through the shimmer. The barrier absorbed both impacts, but before he could begin to react, the second shinobi was on him, fists slamming into the barrier with trip-hammer force. He was shouting something, but the barrier distorted sounds and sight beyond an exceedingly short range, one of the reasons Raiden did not care for it in general.

He now had a serious problem. The barrier was his only protection, but it slowed him down and confused him. While he could make out the other shinobi through the dome-like shimmer of blue, it was only as a dark shimmer, until his fists hit. Those were crystal clear, both to his eyes and to his mind as the barrier twisted and weakened under each blow. He could drop the barrier, hope to block whatever strike was incoming, and roll back to the attack, or try to twist the barrier. Yohko had told him it should be possible, to catch an attacker in the barrier, but he had yet to figure out how.

A pause in the pattern of strikes decided him, and he dropped the barrier, simultaneously dropping to the ground and spinning a sweep kick. He was trying to build momentum for another leap, and almost succeeded. He felt the contact as his foot hit the shinobi's leg, felt the pull and shift as the man's legs came out from beneath him. But the impact slowed Raiden as well. He still managed a respectable leap, moving sideways a good four or five yards.

Just in time for his face to meet a band of metal wrapped around a fist.

His vision flashed white for a second, and he would remember afterwards hearing, but not feeling, as his nose broke clean at the brow. The next thing he remembered was lying sprawled on the ground blinking through tears as a towering figure leaned over. "Cute trick, kid," he heard, "too bad you need a map to find your own ass."

He managed to send out, _Onee-san, bit of trouble here,_ before another blow sent him into unconsciousness.

------------------------------

Pain was the first of his senses to return, a generalized flash of agony. It shocked him awake, and a moment later he was staring into darkness, gasping and shifting to try and avoid the pain. Localizing it took longer, as did determining where he was and what his situation was. Finally, as he felt the bonds at wrist, elbow, shoulder, hip, knee, ankle forehead and chest, as his inner ear informed him he was laying on his back, he realized the pain, now throbbing dully, was coming from his right hand, the smallest finger.

As his eyes slowly turned, he took in what he could of his surroundings. He was in a darkened room, the only light leaking in through a few loose boards and around a door. Outside, he could vaguely hear people moving about, but there was very little conversation. From the sound of things, he guessed he was in some sort of storage shed.

The strap across his head felt like leather. It was tight enough that it probably would have resulted in a headache, if not for the more immediate pain in his fingers. It also prevented him from rolling his head too far to the side, but he did manage to get far enough to see his hand. It was spread flat, palm up, on a wooden plank, a wide leather strap through the wood holding his wrist in place. A hammer was lying next to it, just beyond his finger tips, and he realized it had broken his finger.

"You have remarkably brittle bones, kid," a deep male voice stated, from the shadows above his head. "Didn't take much at all to break those fingers. Or your nose, for that matter. How'd someone with such a glaring weakness get to be a Konoha Shinobi? Aren't you people supposed to have standards?"

Raiden thought about answering him, but decided that talking would just get him in more trouble. It was a lot harder to reveal something when you weren't talking about it. Instead, he sent out a mental call, _Onee-san? Mitsumi?_

The response was immediate, and confusing. Hinata came back immediately with, _Raiden, are you all right?_ Overlapping Hinata was Mitsumi's, _Urusai, baka, unless you want us to get caught, too!_

His still unseen questioner continued, "Silent type, are you? Well, we'll just have to see about that. The other three you were with are coming along nicely. I've just been waiting for you to wake up to confirm things for me."

Raiden almost laughed at that, but managed to contain himself. _Listen,_ he sent to Hinata and Mitsumi, _I just woke up, tied down hard and someone I can't see wants to play question-and-answer. Says he's already got the rest of you?_

_And you believe him,_ Mitsumi replied indignantly, _gullible fool!_

_No, but it's nice to have confirmation._

"One of you has a dirty sense of humor," his interrogator said, accompanied by a rustling of paper, "left these little notes all over the place that were quite insulting. I'm not even sure if some of these acts are even possible. He's being entertained by the others right now. I didn't need anything he could tell me, and my men need to work off some aggression."

It was like trying to juggle kunai in a driving rainstorm, tracking two separate conversations at once while trying to test his bonds and find a way out, but he could manage it if he didn't actually have to talk. _They found your notes, Mitsumi. Any chance of you guys either busting me out, or shutting me off from there?_

He could hear Mitsumi giggle, _bet that pissed 'em off, didn't it?_

Hinata, in contrast, was worried about something. _We're working on it, Raiden. This kind of blows the mission to pot, but that's the way of things. Are you hurt? I can feel something broken?_

"You, on the other hand, hurt Hiro rather seriously. Not even sure if he'll live yet. On the one hand, I'm rather angry about losing one of my shinobi. On the other hand, if you convince me, I might decide to replace him with you. It'll take some good convincing though, kid."

_Nose and finger,_ he replied, _nothing major. Rumiko'll fix it when we get back. Don't be stupid, if it looks like you'll get..._

_Urusai!_ The mental shout, doubled as it was, caused him to grunt in surprise. Hinata continued, _we're going to get you out, Raiden, we do not abandon our own. Give us a few, we're working on something._

"That interests you? Or are you just being objectionable? We'll find out." He moved in close, finally, and Raiden could make out a dark cloaked figure. An arm moved out, and a large, calloused hand picked up the hammer, thunking the head off the table in passing. "Let's talk about what exactly four Genin from Konoha were doing out here on the edge of the Fire Country without a real shinobi to show them what to do?"

_I'm going to have to go now,_ Raiden sent, considering the hammer. _Don't do anything stupid._ He started mentally gathering his chakra, difficult with the pain and bindings but possible, trying to form a barrier of some sort.

_Not long, _Hinata answered, _now we know you're alive, we're on our way._

"Still not talking, hmm?" The hammer came down, gently, on his already broken finger. No forceful blow, it was only the hammer's weight, just enough to grind the bone fragments together. "Don't be silly, boy. You're all alone here, just answer my questions, and..."

"I'll die a little sooner," Raiden rasped. "Choice, between betraying comrades and dying quickly, or dying later with honor and a pyrrhic victory."

His interrogator was silent for a moment, then sighed. "Too bad, kid. I think you had potential." He brought the hammer up, slowly, giving Raiden all the time in the world to anticipate what was coming. Trying his best to mimic Hinata's trick for shutting the others out, he sent, _don't rush on my account. I've got all the time in the world._

After that, he tried not to even think for a while. Thought might have lead to speech.

The 'session' was interrupted by the door of the shack slamming open. The sudden wash of light was painful to Raiden's dilated eyes, but he could make out a rugged, scarred face, framed by a loose hood, as his interrogator swung around to glare at the door. "Taisho, we have a problem! Taro and Ishida were just found, unconscious! They were tied up, inside the perimeter, with some sort of genjutsu rendering them unconscious! We're taking a head-count now, but..."

"Urusai," the interrogator snarled. He dropped the hammer on the ground and strode out, stiff-arming the one who interrupted him out of the way and slamming the door himself on his way out.

Lying on the table, Raiden chuckled weekly, and opened his mind again. _You've been made,_ he sent to Mitsumi, _two unconscious shinobi found inside the 'perimeter'._

_Thanks,_ Mitsumi replied, _about time for the fireworks, anyway._

Raiden accepted that silently with a small amount of dread – Mitsumi had a tendency to go overboard with explosives, when she used them. Instead of worrying about it, however, he started trying to work his way free. Moments later, there was a significant explosion, followed rapidly by several more. The nearest was close enough to shake dust off the walls of the shack he was in, tickling his nose but fortunately not enough to make him sneeze.

The barrier he had been struggling to use to absorb the interrogation was easy enough, now that he was alone and undistracted, to slip beneath the leather bindings. Unfortunately, even with it protecting his skin, he could not get the leverage necessary to break the inch-wide leather straps. The sheer number of straps limited what muscles he could bring to bear to break them, and the straps were neither old nor brittle.

The shouts, cries and orders of a fairly chaotic battle rose outside. From what he could make out, it seemed the others were attacking from several sides, aiming for maximum confusion, rather than outright harm. Difficult, against other shinobi, but possible, especially with an established camp like this appeared to be. _Probably still in the village,_ Raiden thought, _no place else in the area had any buildings at all._ Unsuccessful with his natural strength, Raiden began channeling chakra directly into his muscles. It was the inverse of normal shinobi training, which held that chakra was created from stamina, and could not go backwards, but it worked for the Guardians. Like most of what they had developed, however, it was draining.

He strained for a minute, funneling more chakra into his left arm, trying to use the elbow strap for leverage against the wrist band. Finally, it split and parted, his forearm snapping up so fast and hard he almost hit himself in the shoulder, and did pinch his own elbow against its strap.

He was working on the elbow when the shack disintegrated around him. A large number of something slammed what he thought was his erstwhile questioner through the wooden wall _beside_ the door, and then out again through the rear wall. Combined concussion sent the other boards flying in all directions, and nearly upended the table. The sudden brightness, the speed of the attack, and the cloud of dust and splinters that rose up around him blinded Raiden, and left him coughing and hacking, trying vainly to get his free hand around to cover his mouth and nose.

He was still trying to clear his eyes and mouth when two fists slammed onto the table on either side of his head. A shadowed face leaned over, and its owner asked, "Hey, gaki, what're you doing laying about, making us poor girls do all the work? What kinda man are you?"

He could not help grinning back, "The kind that's tied up. Wanna cut me loose? I'll take over, if you're tired, baa-chan."

Anko grinned, "Nah, I'm having too much fun. You stay here a second, I'll be back. I think."

She vanished before she even finished speaking, and Raiden lunged against his restraints. "Anko! Damn it, sensei!"

"Chibi'll keep you safe," Anko said, apparently trying to be comforting.

He was about to reply to that when he felt something slide over his leg. The combination of her statement, the feeling, and the tone of the sliding sound told him instantly what it was. Ice water flooded his veins and he very nearly screamed his head off. Instead, he managed to choke out, "Anko-sensei! Get it off me!" He could feel himself shaking, could feel the cold sweat, and hated himself for that, but at the same time he was straining against the bonds even harder now.

Anko re-appeared, looking at him quizzically, then down at where the snake was sliding over his leg. "What? Chibi won't hurt you. Ridiculously poisonous, of course, but he won't bite. You."

Raiden managed, by an effort of will, not to snarl at her. Instead, his voice came out a combination of angry hiss and pleading whine, "It's still a snake! A stinking serpent!"

It took her a second, but then a light of realization dawned, "Oh, forgot that." She laughed guiltily, "Gomen, you're such a colorless bastard most of the time, I didn't think." She clucked her tongue, waved, and a moment later the hideous slithering on his leg disappeared, followed by a thud as whatever it was landed on the ground. Raiden was just thankful he hadn't had to look at the vile thing.

Anko whipped out a kunai and slashed through the last of the half-parted strap on his left elbow. Reversing it, she slapped it into his open hand, "Get yourself free with that, if you can. I really do have to finish cleaning up around here."

------------------------------

Raiden managed to cut his way free before Anko, Hinata, Yohko and Mitsumi finished 'cleaning up', but only just. Once he was free, Hinata set and bound, as best she could, his hand, nose, and the ribs he had not noticed. While she was doing that, the other three bound the surviving foreigners, securing most of them in the village's only barn, except the Jounin who had been questioning Raiden, and another Jounin Anko had disabled during the pursuit. Those, they secured separately on the mansion's porch, with plenty of room between each, before gathering in the courtyard a few meters away. The farmers were not bound, but they were all in the Headman's house.

"ANBU will be here shortly," Anko told them, once the prisoners were all secure. "They'll take the missing-nins here back to Konoha."

"Sorry about this, Anko-sensei," Raiden said.

"Why? We were going to do this anyhow, it was just a question of timing."

"We were supposed to cut their numbers down in the pursuit, though."

"True, gaki. Care to tell me where you screwed up?"

"I missed the third shinobi, the Jounin. I had a good plan for taking down..."

She bounced a rock off his head, "Wrong! You screwed up when you forgot the plan!"

He rubbed the new wound, and blinked at her, surprised. "What?"

"The plan! You were supposed to separate the pursuit and lead them to the rendezvous in manageable groups, not take them on yourself. Baka! The other three groups were no problem - Hinata, Yohko and Chibi-ko led their groups right to me. You were the only one stupid enough to take on the whole bunch yourself. And get hammered, and captured, and interrogated. Which necessitated our little assault with no planning and no backup against an enemy that knew we were coming. We're just lucky these idiot missing-nins have gone slack! Baka!"

"Gomen, sensei. I thought the idea was to eliminate them, and I only sensed the two Chunin. I thought I could take them."

"Not the point! You weren't supposed to. You need to learn how to follow the plan."

"I know how to follow the plan, Anko-sensei. That was the plan, or so I thought."

Anko snorted derisively, "You know how to follow _your _plans, gaki. You've been the boss-man for too damn long, and that skews your perceptions."

"Neiji-nii-san has the same problem," Hinata added, "he is so used to being the one in charge that he has trouble when someone else is. Even Shikamaru-kun."

Raiden raised an eyebrow, passing quickly through borrowed memories to see what she was talking about. "Huh, so he does. Know how he deals with it?"

"He's Neiji," she replied, "He handles it the same way he handles anything. By being too good for anyone else to be in charge." Hinata smiled serenely, "you're welcome to try to become that skilled, but it'll be a while. Neiji-nii-san _earned _that Jounin rank of his."

"Incoming," Mitsumi warned, turning from her study of the prisoners on the porch, "looks like five."

"We'll hand over the other prisoners to them, take the Jounin back ourselves," Anko said, standing to stretch with her arms overhead. "Mitsumi'll scout, Hinata and I'll take one apiece, Yohko's on rear-guard. Raiden, you'll be behind Hinata and me." She grinned at him as she came out of the stretch, "try not to trip on your own two feet this time, ne?"

------------------------------

The return to Konoha was long, but boring. Rather than risk having them try something stupid, Anko agreed to let Yohko try on the prisoners a full-strength version of the seal she had placed on Urashima during their Genin exam. It left an interesting pattern of hash-marks on their faces, but did render them unconscious.

A day and half later, they came within sight of Konoha's walls, the gates standing open in this time of peace. From there, after a brief stop to deposit their still-bound cargo, there came the usual post-mission argument.

Walking out of the prison, Anko stretched her shoulders and sighed in pleasure at the ability to stretch properly again. Then she turned to the four following her, and said, "Right, I'm off to the Hokage's office to report, you three take Raiden to the hospital, get him checked out."

Raiden sighed as well, in exasperation. "I'll have Rumiko take a look. She should be back by now." Smiling slightly to themselves, Hinata, Mitsumi and Yohko stepped off to one side

"Iie," Anko replied, grinning at his resistance, "Rumiko's cute, but she's a kid. The medic-nins at the hospital know far more about what they're doing. The Hospital! Bandages and needles galore!"

"Rumiko has been my doctor for years..."

"... And now you're allowed access to doctors _she_ thinks are better than she is."

"She said they know more, not that they're better. Rumiko knows the Seal, they don't."

"They're a few broken bones, the Seal doesn't enter into it."

"The Seal influences everything about us, even broken bones."

"Not that much. Besides, Rumiko won't always be available and the medic-nins need experience with the Seal's effects, ne?"

Raiden gave up on the usual arguments, and decided to try a new one. "I'm not going somewhere that treats me more like a lab-rat than a patient, sensei. They've been getting worse about that, with all of us."

"You're a curiosity, Raiden! New and unusual wierdos that defy rational explanation! They did the same thing to me, and trust me, they weren't nearly as polite back then."

"Ano, Raiden?" Hinata interrupted, getting tired of the argument, "What if I asked Sakura to take a look, instead of the regular medic-nins?"

He shot her a dirty look, "She's worse than the rest. Last time I let her near me, she stuck needle of anesthetic in my arm and tried to cut it off."

Mitsumi snorted, "More like sewing it back on. She was stitching up your arm, aho."

Anko grinned, crossing her arms, "Fine, you don't want to go to the hospital, that's juuust fine," she dragged out the adjective with obvious relish, causing Raiden to tense. Whatever she was thinking now would be bad. Not dangerous, he figured, but uncomfortable, at the least. "You can go see your sister instead of the hospital. Hinata-chan, be a dear and, on your way to the Dojo, ask Sakura to stop by as well. I'm sure Rumiko won't mind having her help to make sure this idiot isn't permanently damaged."

Raiden glared at her, causing her grin to widen, then snarled, "I'll go to the hospital. But anyone who tries to 'study' me is getting put through a wall."

Anko chuckled, "Yosh. Then I'm off to beard the old hag in her den. You kids make sure he does what he said he would. I'll meet you back at the Dojo later for the beat-down I'm sure one of you deserves."

From the prison to the hospital was a simple enough trip, but putting up with Mitsumi's heckling on the mental, verbal and physical planes, was wearing. The hospital was worse, though at least being there silenced Mitsumi. Neither of them cared for the place.

It took the better part of two hours before the doctors finally let him go, two hours of tense conversation, uncomfortable silences, and painful re-setting. Finally, the last of the nurses finished tying the splints to his hand, and the medic-nin who had done most of the work finished off the paperwork and instructions. "You're fingers are rather badly broken," the man explained. Raiden hadn't bothered remembering his name. "That's to be expected, from a torture session, but it's still going to take a while to heal. The bone fragments are all aligned again, at least you respond to that, but we can't accelerate their healing as we normally would."

"We've known that for years," Raiden muttered.

The medic-nin ignored him, "The ribs and nose are also set, and should heal fine, probably faster than your fingers and hand. Thing is, your bones are rather brittle. I'm prescribing..."

"Known that for years, as well," Raiden said, louder than his previous comment. "We've looked into it, it's a personal side-effect." He held up his right hand, and even through the bandages, the medic-nin knew exactly what he meant.

In the face of Raiden's hostility, he tried once again, "I'm prescribing some calcium supplements..."

"Tried those," Raiden cut him off again. "Didn't work. My bones are brittle, I deal with it."

Hinata asked, "How? From what I remember of your battles, you've never had a problem."

"I keep up a low-grade barrier. Doesn't take much chakra or attention, and it isn't all that strong, but it covers the difference in the bone-strength. I also try to be careful how I hit things. Not perfect, but I'm a shinobi – I adapt."

"Still, that's going to slow the healing further," the medic-nin said, resuming his instructions. "Normally, with some judicious chakra-acceleration of the healing, it would be good to go in about a month, given how badly damaged the entire hand is. However, with you, it's going to be three or four months, at best. I'm afraid you'll have to use some of that shinobi adaptability, and get used to being left-handed for a while. As I said, the ribs and the nose should be faster, though you're more likely than most to wind up with a kink in your nose."

"I can deal," Raiden replied, "with all of it."

"Hope so. We'll see you back here in two weeks, make sure none of the bones have shifted, and they're healing all right. Any questions?"

"No."

"Then we'll see you in two weeks." The medic-nin scrawled a few more characters on the sheet, then snapped his folder closed. "The nurse at the front desk will handle your discharge."

Ten minutes later, the four of them were out of the hospital and making their way to the Dojo. Unconsciously, as they walked, they fell into a loose formation with Mitsumi a few steps ahead, followed by Hinata and Raiden, with Yohko bringing up the rear, their usual 'travel formation' they had begun using in the field.

Hinata chose the opportunity to reinforce things, shortly after they left the hospital. "You really do seem to have a problem following orders, Raiden. It wasn't obvious in class, you always worked with the sibs, but you don't really know how, do you? I can see it, in your memories."

Raiden shook his head at the sudden choice of topic. On the one hand, he had expected it, but on the other, he was never comfortable discussing his own short-comings. "No, I've never been very good at it." He paused, for a second, considering the back of Mitsumi's head, then sighed, "I can't afford to be a follower, Hinata. I'm responsible, at the very least, for all seven of us. I can't trust anyone else to understand us, what we can do, what we _will_ do, or what it will take to keep us safe." A second later, he amended, "_couldn't_ trust anyone else."

Hinata just watched him, then asked, "Not even the sibs? You're all smart, strong, skilled. Yohko certainly has the intelligence, Mitsumi the energy. Juubei is doing well with Team Eight."

Raiden nodded along with each of her points. Yohko spoke up before he could, however, "I have the intelligence, Hinata-sensei, but not the decisiveness. I can't make snap decisions as well as Raiden."

"I'm crazy," Mitsumi offered, and Raiden raised an eyebrow when he realized she was now walking backwards down the street, to join the conversation, "anyone'll tell you that."

"You aren't that bad," Hinata said, apparently trying to be reassuring, "though what you're doing now doesn't help." Mitsumi's grin grew wider.

"Juubei is doing well with Team Eight," Raiden allowed, "but spend some time with them, and see how that actually works. Juubei's good..."

"But he's a second," Mitsumi interrupted, "not a leader. A right hand, to someone else's boss."

"He could be a leader," Raiden said, "if he just stopped doubting himself."

Mitsumi shook her head, "No, he's too scared."

That stopped him cold. He thought back, but couldn't think of what she was talking about. Juubei wasn't fearless, but he was certainly not lacking in bravery. The only thing Raiden had ever seen Juubei flinch from was a Thunderbolt. "Scared of what?"

"Being in command. Responsibility."

"That scares me, too, Chibi-ko."

She shook her head, "No, Rai-chan, not the same thing. You're scared of screwing up, of failing. Juubei's scared of getting one of us killed."

"I'm afraid of that too."

Yohko, joined in, "umm, no, actually, you aren't. Not in the same way. If you have to, for Konoha, you'll sacrifice one of us in a heartbeat."

Raiden frowned, "I'm not going to get anyone killed. You're my family."

Yohko smiled, a little winsomely, "We know that, Raiden, but that's not the point. Juubei's terrified of getting one of us hurt or killed, whether it was a mistake or not. He'll make a good leader, if he ever gets over that fear, but until then, he's your second."

Raiden continued to frown as he considered that. Fear of failure was obvious, of course he was afraid of failing, everyone was. But he was just as afraid of getting one of his siblings killed. As they walked, he rolled the thought around, trying to see what Mitsumi and Yohko were talking about. It wasn't until they were almost within sight of the Dojo that he finally realized – Juubei literally could not send one of them out to die.

To his surprise, and growing discomfort, he also realized that he could do it – that he could stand there, surrounded by his sisters, and contemplate sending them out to die.  
Hinata brought him out of his reverie, as they approached what was now 'home' for all of them, "I believe that is one of Father's men. You're late for your lesson, Raiden."

Looking up, he saw what she was talking about, one of House Hyuuga's younger scions standing guard outside the Dojo, and obviously none too pleased by that fact. "Great," he said after a moment, "just what I need to top off my day."

"It's your own fault," Hinata replied.

Raiden rolled his eyes, "I shouldn't've had the balls to insult him before. Yes, you've said that before. Let's get this over with."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scarecrow-sama: Thank you! Finally proof that someone's reading this:). You're right, or course – they are powerful. But power does not equal skill or experience, as I hope this chapter demonstrated (and the next should reinforce). Keep in mind two things, both pointed out by Hinata in Chapter 5: they have power, but it's poorly controlled. They are also stronger together than apart – while the more of them present the stronger they are, the reverse is also true. Anko and Kakashi are both highly skilled (all the control in the world, personalities aside), and are also experienced solos. So far, the kids have only had to deal with people who didn't know what they could do, and remember that the only real fight they've been in, it took Juubei, Kuma, Rumiko and Mitsumi to kill one Jounin. Also, there are a few weaknesses in their power, and I haven't yet figured out _if_ they can get around some of them.


	11. 10 Leadership & Lessons

**Rise of the Guardians**

By Daishi Prime

- 10 – Leadership & Lessons -

Lord Hyuuga was waiting inside the Dojo, as Hinata predicted. When the four of them entered, he and Kuma were standing at the rear of the building, watching Juubei and Rumiko spar under Sado-sensei's watchful gaze. Kuma's father looked over and nodded briefly in acknowledgement, then returned to monitoring his students. Kuma also nodded, but did not interrupt whatever discussion he was having with Lord Hyuuga.

The four of them split up. Yohko and Mitsumi leapt to the crossbeams and headed for their rooms, while Raiden and Hinata walked past the sparring match to join her father and Kuma at the rear. Raiden used the time to study the bout, trying to decipher exactly what Sado-sensei was trying to teach Juubei and Rumiko. He hadn't figured it out before they reached the pair at the back, but it saved him from having to stare at Lord Hyuuga the whole way.

Said personage, on their arrival, kept them waiting for several minutes. He and Kuma were apparently discussing the Dragon Form as the Guardians were learning it, with Lord Hyuuga drawing comparisons to his own clan's Jyuuken style. It was a rather interesting conversation, save that Raiden could tell he had missed the critical initial discussion, and the initial ground-work.

He sent a thought to Hinata, _Should I tell him Mitsumi and I learned Jyuuken from the binding?_

She glanced at him briefly, _Not unless you want him to test you on it, and find you wanting. You don't have the Byakugan, mine is unpredictable now, and Jyuuken's half-useless without it._ The annoyance she sent along with the thought was rather strong.

_Mitsumi could fake it fairly well,_ he offered, letting her feel his amusement at the thought of Mitsumi surprising her father.

_But you and I can't. Don't annoy him any more than normal, Raiden. Things seem to be settling down, and we need that calm._ She paused, then added, _I need that calm. I'm still not used to the Seal._

_You're doing better than we did, _Raiden replied, trying to bolster her confidence on multiple levels,_ learning faster. It's only been a couple of months. But I take your point, and I'll be a good subservient little whipping boy._

That got her to frown, _You're not a 'whipping boy,' Raiden, you're..._

"If I may interrupt, Hinata," Lord Hyuuga said, frowning at the two of them, "I said, 'welcome back.'"

They both twitched, and Hinata bowed slightly, "G… gomen nasai, Father. I was watching the match."

Hiashi raised an eyebrow, "I would say, you were discussing something with Kodachi here, ne?"

They both blinked at him, then silently asked each other, _did you tell him? I didn't tell him!_

"It was simple enough to discover the capability was there," Hiashi continued, "given your repeated slips."

Raiden asked, "'Slips', Lord Hyuuga?"

"The three of you have a tendency to stop talking in mid-conversation, and pick it up again a few seconds later somewhat further along. Also, there have been occasions when I told something to Hinata, and you or Mitarashi knew it the next time I spoke with you." The canted gaze shifted to Hinata, "often when you were not supposed to know what I had told my daughter."

Hinata hung her head under the judgmental gaze, "Gomen nasai, Father."

Raiden could not help bristling back for Hinata's subservient stance. "In all honesty, Lord Hyuuga, there's not a whole lot of choice in the matter. We often can't help hearing each other's thoughts and memories, especially when we're standing right next to each other."

"How interesting. How did your mission go, Hinata?"

Raiden could tell she was startled by the abrupt change of topic, but Hinata covered well. "It went passably well, Father. The initial reconnaissance went well, and we managed to lure most of the missing-nins out in small groups. Raiden-kun was ambushed before he could rejoin us, however, which necessitated our assaulting the village prior to ANBU's arrival. We managed to rescue him and capture the majority of the remaining missing-nins. The ANBU team was bringing most of them in, however Anko-san and I brought back the two Jounin who led the group."

Hiashi turned to look at Raiden, considering his hand and face in a single glance. "Ambushed, were you? Captured, as well, I take it?"

In the face of that superior, slightly insulting look, Raiden did his best to keep a neutral expression and tone. "I made mistakes, errors in tactics and target evaluation. They cost me the use of my hand for a few days, and probably a number of lectures from all and sundry. Including Hinata."

"Since you survived," Raiden couldn't tell if he was displeased by that fact, or merely disinterested, "I assume you learned from this?"

"Quite a bit, Lord Hyuuga. That has been the subject of most of our conversations on the return journey. Not the least, always have backup on hand."

Lord Hyuuga nodded, slowly, then said, "You were late for your lesson, so I decided to come see where my daughter has been spending so much of her time these past two months. We will pick up where we left off shortly, I wish to discuss certain things with Sado-san while he is here."

Taking that for the dismissal it was, Raiden merely nodded and made his way to his own room. Taking the opportunity, he grabbed a change of clothes, and spent a brief while in the shower. He finished in time for Lord Hyuuga to conclude his discussion with Sado-sensei. A minute later, the two of them were walking across the village to the Hyuuga estate, trailed at a discrete distance by Lord Hyuuga's escort.

About halfway across the village, Lord Hyuuga broke the silence suddenly, "I have come to be very familiar with you during these lessons, Kodachi. Thus, I can say with some certainty, that something is actively bothering you. Would you care to explain?"

Raiden risked a glance, but the Hyuuga was still marching along at his usual pace, staring straight ahead of him. "My team and I were discussing my position, between the hospital and the dojo. Yohko said something that, on thinking about it, bothers me rather badly."

"And what was that?"

Raiden waited a few moments, uncertain if he wanted to discuss this with someone he still distrusted this badly. Finally, he decided on a compromise. "When the Hokage ordered me to take these lessons of yours, I couldn't help wondering why you agreed to them, Lord Hyuuga. You were most vocal in your dislike and distrust of us, and me especially."

Lord Hyuuga finally looked at him, a repressive glance. "I asked you a question, Genin, and it is your responsibility to answer." He turned back to staring straight ahead. "However, in the interests of reassuring your suspicions, I did not 'agree' to teach you. When the Elders returned their decision, I asked the Hokage to assign you, specifically, for these lessons." Raiden couldn't help a surprised cough, which again drew the Hyuuga's eye, this time with a millimetric expression which might have been a smile. "You're biggest mistake, Raiden, one all of you make, is in assuming that no one else feels any obligation to Konoha, that no one is as dedicated to the village as you are. Yet most shinobi are just as loyal to and protective of Konoha.

"As the Elders decided to allow you to remain, however probationary your status, it is quite clear that you, personally, will exert a significant influence on Konoha in the future. All shinobi naturally tend to follow the most powerful of their ranks, as more powerful shinobi are, usually, better trained and more experienced. In your case, you lack the experience and training, yet you are already displaying great power. It is also obvious, from your speech before the Elders, that while you have the potential to become a leader, you lack the training and skills necessary to be a good leader. An _effective _leader. Much as I respect Anko and Kakashi, neither of them has ever developed as a leader, beyond that of a single shinobi team. Anko has spent too much time on solitary missions, Kakashi has always been a loner, and both are uncomfortable with the authority and responsibility of a true leader. While you will never be Hokage, given the permanent unknown the Seal represents, you will still have far more influence than either Anko or Kakashi have ever truly had, or will have.

"As a Hyuuga, aware of all that I have just said, it was clearly _my_ responsibility to see to it that one who will exert as much influence as you, be trained to use that influence properly. For the good of Konoha, not just the good of the moment."

From Hinata's memories, Raiden quoted, "We give of ourselves for the good of Konoha."

That earned him a slight nod, "She has told you. It is not merely a slogan of our family, Raiden. Whatever your opinion of us, it is our guiding principle. Now, I have answered your question, please be so kind as to answer mine."

Raiden turned and for a few moments considered the dirt of the road, wondering how to phrase this. "I realized this afternoon that I can contemplate sending my siblings out to die. That I could order them to their deaths, if the situation warranted it. I find that concept rather disturbing." Almost whispering, he repeated, "very disturbing."

"You find this disturbing? It is a logical extension of your oath, Raiden, one you should have realized long ago. Why is this disturbing?"

"They are my family," Raiden replied softly, "my only family, my younger brothers and sisters. I'm supposed to protect them, not kill them. That's why I took the Seal first, why I spoke to the Elders first, why I went over that cliff after Yohko." He shook his head, sighing slightly, "I don't know if I could actually do it, actually order them on a suicide mission, but I can _plan _for it. I can list the circumstances, in a general way, and they follow my oath. If one of them must die to preserve Konoha, I can order them to do it." After a moment, he repeated, "They're my family, I'm supposed to protect them."

He took several steps before he realized that Lord Hyuuga had stopped. Looking back, he watched the Hyuuga moved up next to him, and put his hand on Raiden's shoulder. If he hadn't known better, Raiden would have sworn he saw sympathy in the old man's pupil-less eyes. "That, Raiden, is the highest cost of leadership. Sending others out, knowing they will die. Allowing another, to die in your place, a friend - or a brother. Knowing how to do that, and continue to function, continue to lead, is the second most difficult part of being a leader of shinobi." The hand squeezed ever so slightly, "the hardest part is learning how to deal with people who will obey those orders, knowing _they_ will die. Accept that now, accept that some of your siblings will die by your order, or resign as a shinobi. You have too much power, in yourself and with them, to be anything other than a leader, but if you cannot accept that price, you have no place issuing orders to others."

A moment later, he was once again the reserved inscrutable Lord of Clan Hyuuga. "Come, the shogi board remains unchanged, and I await your next move."

As they were passing through one of Konoha's many small markets, Raiden studied the crowd. The people of the village made way for the Lord of House Hyuuga without comment, though they did take notice. That notice was, usually, extended to Raiden himself, but all he could detect was curiosity and the occasional recognition.

In an effort to get his mind off their previous discussion, he said, "A question, Lord Hyuuga?"

The Hyuuga's only response was, "Ask."

"I've seen how the villagers regard Uzumaki Naruto and, since his return, the Uchiha traitor..."

The Hyuuga interrupted him, "Uchiha Sasuke has been cleared of all charges against him, and reinstated as a full shinobi, after completing one of the most difficult infiltration missions ever asked of a Jounin, let alone the Genin he was at the start of it. Referring to him as a 'traitor' is both erroneous and insulting."

Raiden almost argued the point, then decided it wasn't worth the effort. Instead, he said, "Regardless, with that curse-seal of his, everyone regards him with fear and distrust, and they regard Uzumaki Naruto with more of both. A couple months ago, our hearing before the Elders was rather well attended, and I know that civilians have learned of what we said there. What I can't figure out is, why aren't they reacting to _us_ the same way they do to Uzumaki and Uchiha. We are, in our own way, even stranger, if not yet as powerful, and unlike the two of them, we deliberately chose to become what we are, every step of the way. Why don't they fear us?"

"Perhaps because, unlike the two of them, you have no public history with Konoha. I assume you know of Uzumaki's unique circumstances?"

Raiden stared at him for a moment, then chuckled, "Everyone knows, Lord Hyuuga. It even got through his thick skull, eventually. Yohko found out on one of her research projects, when we were looking into the Uch... Uchiha Sasuke."

Lord Hyuuga nodded slightly, "Consider this, Raiden. Uzumaki Naruto's unique condition has been known to the adult inhabitants of this village for his entire life. Even now, the majority of its adult population, remembers that terrible night when the Kyuubi attacked us. Thus, he is feared for a memory of things which occurred before he was even aware, possibly even before he was born, but to which he is bound by the Fourth Hokage's last technique. Sasuke has a similar history. Everyone knows that he left, that he carries that curse seal, and that its terrible power comes from the worst traitor this village has ever known. Thus, they are both feared and distrusted, not necessarily for what they have done, or what they may do, as for what the village knows and remembers of the sources of their power.

"All anyone in the village knows of you and your fellows is that you have an inflated notion of your own importance, and that you bear a seal designed by the Fourth Hokage, considered the second greatest Hokage even now, sixteen years after his death. That may make you odd, but there is nothing to be feared in a Genin with a unique seal. No matter how arrogant the Genin. The true extent of your differences is essentially unknown. Did you expect to see something, to have the villagers react differently?"

"Yes," Raiden replied, "I thought we would be feared."

"Do you want to be feared? It can be a powerful motivator."

Raiden grimaced, "Thought about it, once. Fear's easy enough to create, almost impossible to get rid of. And you're right, it is a good motivator. It's just impossible to predict what it will motivate someone to do, obedience or rebellion. No, fear is not what I want. I'm just surprised not to see it."

"Simply because of practicality?"

"I couldn't care less what anyone thinks of me, Lord Hyuuga, but I don't want my siblings to be feared, shunned or hated like that. It may be inevitable, but that doesn't mean we have to go around actively looking to cause it."

"Fear of the powerful is normal, Raiden. The Hyuuga have always been feared for our power, the Uchiha for theirs. Uzumaki is as feared today for his demonstrated power as for his condition. Yet, we are also all admired, honored, and respected for it, and the uses to which we put it. The reaction is dependant on the individual reacting, and the one being reacted to. Recognition will come in time, Raiden, and with it, fear. Yet another price you will pay for what you have done, and your siblings with you. Do you still think the price worth the gain?"

Raiden laughed, harshly, "The gain is worth any personal price, Lord Hyuuga. I have never doubted that and will never doubt it. That doesn't mean I like it, or what it may do to my family."

------------------------------

When Raiden and her father left, Hinata settled onto a crossbeam to watch Sado-sensei's 'class'. It was apparent to her that, for all his professional approach, and the respectful behavior of her new sibs, this was more in the nature of a family training session than a formal class. In many ways, it reminded her of watching her father and Neji spar after her first Chunin exam. No doubt who was in charge, but none of the distance expected between an Academy instructor and her students.

After his discussion with Lord Hyuuga, Sado-sensei called in Kuma and Yohko. A few minutes later, as Juubei and Rumiko were cleaning up, Mitsumi joined Hinata on the crossbeam, handing her a drink. For a time, both kunoichi watched the sparring match in silence, mental and physical. For all their disparate sizes, it was apparent that Kuma and Yohko were both evenly matched, and used to sparring with each other. Kuma's slow speed was more than offset by his reach and strength, and Yohko's ability to dance around him was beautiful to watch.

Hinata decided to break the silence first. _Have you said anything to him, yet?_

Mitsumi twitched, then looked at her sideways. _What do you mean? Said anything about what to who?_

Hinata smiled, _Don't forget, Kitsune-chan, that I've been inside your head. So has Raiden. Have you said anything to him?_

Mitsumi sighed, and shook her head. _You spent time in _his_ head too, Onee-chan. So did I. He's just like he appears, totally dedicated to Konoha, and he really does see all of us as his sisters and brothers. Why waste my time and confuse things, when the outcome's already determined?_

_Because if you don't ever tell him, you'll loose him to someone else. Yohko seems to be interested, as well, and I know he got glances back at the Academy. _Hinata quirked an eyebrow at her sister, _Also, it's not like you to just give up on something._

_No, it isn't, and I haven't. Nor is Yohko interested in him, not like that,_ Mitsumi answered instantly, then paused. _I'm just not ready to do anything about it yet. Would you be speaking from experience?_

_Hai,_ Hinata replied, blushing slightly, _as you well know, Kitsune-chan, although I doubt he was ever really mine to loose. Naruto already had his eye on someone else, unlike Raiden. If you don't talk to him about it, he won't talk to you. And he spent as much time in our heads as we did in his. He knows, even if he is too focused to understand it right now._

_No he doesn't. I managed to keep it from him, I think. And I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell him._

_I won't,_ Hinata agreed, _but you should._ _Just because he thinks of you as a sister now, doesn't mean he always will. But he won't change his opinion unless you give him reason to._

_Maybe,_ Mitsumi agreed. For a time, she stared at Yohko and Kuma, remaining silent, but Hinata could feel her thinking. As she waited, she studied Mitsumi and again found herself intrigued by the differences between Mitsumi and Raiden. Raiden's thought processes reminded her of her one trip to the ocean. She had watched a storm, well out to sea, and been amazed at the calm surface of the ocean along the beach, while the storm was so obviously powerful. Raiden reminded her of that, a calm outward appearance driven by powerful forces hidden away in the depths. Mitsumi was more like a crackling fire, energetic and shifting rapidly, as obvious and forthright as her public appearance. Sitting this close, the comparison was even more obvious, the speed and energy passing through the link to warm and energize Hinata's own mind.

Finally, Mitsumi continued, _and maybe not. I'm not ready to risk it now, though. Maybe in a little while, when things are a little more settled._ Aloud, she said, "I've got an idea for something, a technique. You mentioned it once, and I think I've figured out how to do it. Would you be willing to help? I want someone to keep an eye on me when I try it, in case things get out of hand."

"Certainly," Hinata agreed, allowing the change in topic, content that her point was made. "What sort of technique is it?"

Mitsumi's trademark grin appeared, "a surprise technique." She nodded at the sparring match, "They'll be done in a bit, I'll ask Juubei to hold the barrier once they are."

The tapping on her foot caused both girls to look down. "Hold the barrier for what, gaki?" Juubei was standing beneath them, half dressed with a towel over his shoulders.

"Tche, go get dressed, flirt," Mitsumi muttered, "walking around in front of a bunch of girls dressed like that, you're asking for it."

"Juubei," Hinata said, staring at him quizzically, "do you even carry kunai in the shower?"

The twins looked at her, confused for a second, then blinked owlishly in eerie unison, and both looked back down. Sure enough, hanging from clips on his belt were a trio of kunai. Juubei, looking a little sheepish, replied, "Uh, yeah, I guess I do. Habit, you know? Always armed and all that."

"You gonna hold the barrier for us?" Mitsumi obviously found nothing strange in her brother's armed status.

"Sure," he agreed, "just try not to blow the place up again."

Mitsumi made a face, "That was Raiden's fault! He shouldn't've surprised me like that!"

Hinata raised an eyebrow, then 'remembered' the sparring session they were talking about. "Ah, that looks like it might have been funny, from the outside. I must say, though, that looking at it from both sides, it was probably your fault, Kitsune-chan. You're too energetic, when someone gets you going."

Mitsumi growled something under her breath, then sighed, and held out her hand. Hinata looked at her oddly for a moment, then realized she was asking for Hinata's now-empty glass. Hinata let her take it, and the younger kunoichi rolled backwards off the beam, leaving her to watch the sparring again.

By the time the sparring session was over and Sado-sensei had departed, Mitsumi had vanished into her alcove and returned with a small metal tray filled with leaves, twigs, and a base of sand. She placed it in the center of the training mats, and beckoned Hinata over.

Hinata crouched beside her, watching Juubei move into position by the barrier's activation point. "So, what are you going to be doing?"

Mitsumi replied mentally, _I overheard you telling Yohko that the Seal incorporates elements of a summoning. I've wanted to summon something for so long. My mother had a summons for owls, and I always loved watching her with them._ She looked up with a slightly sheepish grin, _I always wanted to fly, and that was the closest I could get. I think I've figured out how to summon... something. Don't want to say until I'm sure, 'cause it's a little weird. I've been working on it for a couple weeks now, but haven't tried the actual summons yet. I wanted backup for that._

_Fair enough,_ Hinata agreed, then looked over a Juubei, signaling him to raise the barrier. He nodded, placed his hand on the line of seals, and a moment later a shimmering blue mist faded into existence between the columns. "Whenever you're ready, Onee-chan," she said aloud, settling back to watch.

Mitsumi took a few moments to review a sheet of paper, waving one hand absently as she mentally practiced. The crackling energy of her mind was more focused than normal, directed. Finally, she put the paper down, and held out her right hand, palm down and fingers spread, over the tray. Hinata could feel Mitsumi's chakra swirling, focusing on her seal, and the black markings faded into view. Mitsumi brought her left thumb up, and bit it, just enough to draw blood, then pressed the small wound the center of her Seal, saying aloud, "Kuchiyose no jutsu."

Hinata had seen several summons, by now. Kakashi's dogs were quite famous, in her generation of shinobi, and Naruto's frogs almost, though she found the amphibians somewhat uncomfortable. She had seen Anko's summoning of snakes, as well, several times since she began working with Team Nine. So she thought she knew what to expect, the appearance of the contract seals, the cloud of smoke, and whatever creature was summoned appearing out of the cloud.

Instead, as the last syllable left Mistumi's lips, there was a gout of flame from her palm. It struck the debris in the tray hard, scattering leaves, twigs and sand everywhere, and caused Hinata to lunge backwards. The roaring rush of sound had her convinced, for a moment, that Mitsumi had actually stumbled upon a Guardian's version of the Uchihas' fire techniques.

Mitsumi didn't move, however, ignoring the blast and heat to stare with fixed eyes at the space beneath her hand. As the last of the detritus finished falling, she looked up at Hinata, and smiled, taking her hand away from the small column of flame. "It worked," she whispered, sounding far more surprised than Hinata, "it actually worked!"

Looking at the new contents of the tray, Hinata couldn't help asking, "What... is it?"

'It' was now a shifting, wavering flame, like a massive candle flame, shifting in no wind, but in a pattern Hinata could almost follow. She could see shades of red, yellow and orange, shifting within the flame, and, more disturbingly, she could sense the flow of chakra through it, some from Mitsumi but much, much more from its own inner source.

"It's a fire spirit," Mitsumi said, sounding more than a little giddy, "isn't it cute?" She held out a hand, and the living flame leapt into it. Hinata gasped and leapt forward, instinct driving her to try to put out the flame, but it settled into Mitsumi's palm without effect. A moment later, it was flowing up her arm, leaving no more mark than slightly reddened skin, and the girl was giggling like it tickled. It came to rest on her shoulder, seemingly trying to set fire to Mistumi's hair. _Don't worry,_ Mitsumi reassured Hinata, _it won't burn me, it likes me._

Still more than a little frightened by the strange creature, Hinata tried reason again, "It's a fire, Mitsumi. Burning is what it does."

The dancing flame crackled slightly, its dance become chaotic and its form splintered for a moment, and Mitsumi laughed aloud. Two pairs of all-black eyes met, and Mitsumi whispered, "It thinks you're pretty, Hinata-sensei, but not too bright. It's not fire, it's a fire _spirit_. I summoned it!" She picked up a leaf off the ground, and offered it to the flame on her shoulder. The fire spirit extended a tendril of flame, and lit the small leaf, quickly charring it to ashes.

"I know you summoned it, but..."

"Don't worry, Hinata-sensei, I just wanted to see if I was right." Mitsumi held her hand up to her shoulder, palm up, and the flame jumped, from shoulder to hand, still dancing slowly. Mitsumi whispered to it for a second, then stretched her arm out, and a moment later the dancing flame flared, twisting into a column almost to the roof of the barrier, with the roar of a bonfire. A moment later, the spiral tightened, and it seemed to drill down into Mitsumi's hand, the column shrinking and spinning faster and faster, before vanishing completely in a puff of dirty smoke. The only trace of it was a slight pattern of ash on Mitsumi's palm.

Mitsumi dusted her hand off, then held it out for Hinata's inspection, smiling like a kid in a candy store. "See? Not a mark! It was my summon, Hinata-sensei, it wouldn't hurt me." Then she keeled over sideways, unconscious before she hit the floor.

------------------------------

When Raiden returned from the Hyuuga compound, he was still contemplating the same thing. For two hours, they had sat across a shogi board, neither of them speaking. Raiden was, in a weird sort of way, becoming used to such sessions. Once a week, per the Hokage's orders, he presented himself at the Hyuuga's manor house. There, Lord Hyuuga supposedly tutored him in 'leadership', but the eight, now nine, sessions had all been mostly two drawn-out games of shogi.

Usually, Lord Hyuuga would pose a few questions, before or after the shogi session. When Raiden answered, he would pick apart those answers with a blatant disregard for his 'student's' reactions. However, the time spent over the shogi board was always silent. Today had been no exception, save that the discussion had occurred while walking to Hyuuga Manor. Even the small ritual Lord Hyuuga made of the end of the lesson had been cut short today, and Raiden had found himself on his way home still contemplating the same questions he had started the lesson with. Loosing five pieces inside an hour hadn't helped, either.

He was so caught up in his thoughts, that he only noticed Hinata when he felt the slight mental shift as she touched his mind. He stopped in the middle of the street, and looked at her, blinking. Something was disturbing her, he could tell by the feel of her mind and the fact that, as she had in the brief period between their Genin exam and taking the Seal herself, she wouldn't look him in the eye. "What is it?"

Hinata twitched and ducked her head a little further. She was leaning against the Dojo's fence, staring at the street, and now she was staring at her feet. "Mitsumi came up with a new technique. We tried it this afternoon, after you left. It worked, mostly."

Hinata wouldn't be worried over a technique, he knew that. She was already coming up with her own new ones, now that those she knew before didn't work. "What happened to her?"

"She's unconscious. She seems to have drained her chakra to her limit, but Shizune-san says it is different from what happened during Anko's test." Raiden was halfway turned around and headed for the hospital when she added, "Mitsumi is here, in her room. I sent Juubei to get Shizune-san when she collapsed, while Rumiko and I checked on her as best we could."

Raiden nodded and turned back to the Dojo. "It can't be too serious," he told her, not sure if he was trying to reassure himself as well, "I didn't sense anything through the link, and we usually can when one of us is hurt."

"I sensed nothing either," Hinata agreed, preceding him into the building, "but still, she should be waking up by now."

The others were gathered by the kitchen. They looked up as Raiden entered, but he waved them back to their seats. They ignored him and, as he and Hinata leapt to the crossbeams, moved to stand beneath Mitsumi's room. The sliding shouji panel was open, and three people were inside. Mitsumi was laid out in her hammock, with Shizune standing over her on one of the supports that served as a floor, apparently re-checking Mitsumi's vitals. Rumiko was also there, sitting on a shelf Mitsumi normally reserved for whatever clothes needed washing.

"Shizune-san," Hinata said, getting the older woman's attention. Tsunade's first apprentice looked up and nodded. Her face was always serious, so Raiden couldn't tell how bad she thought the situation was, but her continued presence was indicative, to him. Hinata continued, "Is there anything we can do?"

"Actually, there might be," Shizune offered. "Her chakra levels are still terribly low, they aren't recharging at that ridiculous rate you kids normally show. It's like she's lost her connection to wherever your chakra comes from. Since we don't know how this link the three of you share works, I was thinking that might be what's missing."

"Another seal," Raiden asked tiredly. One had been trouble enough, two was proving interesting but difficult. He wasn't sure how he'd deal with a third.

"Baka," Shizune snapped, "don't be melodramatic. Get in here. Remember how the three of you were holding hands when you released Hinata-chan's seal? Do that again. I know that the seven of you can send chakra to each other, try to do that now, but send it through Mitsumi's seal. Can you do that, or is it too complicated for you?"

Raiden stepped up next to her, "Tche, you really do take after the Hokage, don't you. Sure you're not related to her?" That earned him a slap on the head, but he ignored it, holding out Mitsumi's hand to Hinata.

Hinata settled her hand on top of theirs, and Raiden closed his eyes. He felt Hinata reaching out, mentally as well as physically, and met her halfway. The sensation of being that close to the calm serenity of Hinata's mind was incredibly soothing, and pushed his worries to the back of his mind. It was too difficult to contemplate his siblings' fate when Hinata's mere presence proved unequivocally that they could handle anything.

Still, their combined presence was lacking, and the two of them moved, almost by instinct, to find what was missing. Endless moments later, Mitsumi was there, fire and light crackling between the three of them, energizing and enlivening them. For a moment, they approached the unity they had shared once before, a simple sense of limitless completion.

Then he was inside his own head again, back inside his own skin. It took him some time to regain focus and collect himself, especially when he realized he was laying down.

"You guys need to go on a diet," Mitsumi muttered, and Raiden realized he was laying across her legs in the hammock, with Hinata half on top of him, "you weigh a ton."

"Good thing Hinata's father isn't here right now," Shizune quipped, "he'd pop a vein."

Hinata, slower than Raiden or Mitsumi to gather her wits, gasped, blushed a bright crimson, and tried to leap to her feet. Unfortunately, between the mobile nature of the hammock and the lack of an actual floor beneath it, she only managed to tumble out of the hammock and, with a shrill cry, crash through the shouji floor. She hit the Dojo's floor with a loud thud.

Mitsumi got the first word in, weak though her voice was. "I'm not fixing that! I didn't break it this time!"

"We'll fix it," Raiden reassured her, shifting around. More experienced with the arrangement than Hinata, he managed to reach the crossbeam in front of Mitsumi's room. A glance down showed Kuma helping Hinata back to her feet, her face still a bright red. "Are you alright, Hinata?"

"H... hai," Hinata replied, voice almost a whisper, "j... just... s... surprised. A little." She wouldn't look up.

He chuckled a little, then looked up himself, "Mitsumi?"

"Oh, don't mind me," she replied, waving airily with her left hand. Shizune had her right in a death grip as she checked the girl's pulse. "I'll just lay here and be pampered like I should be."

"She seems to be recovering finally," Shizune said. "Her chakra is regenerating again. Ugh, how you kids can stand this constant pressure of chakra, I do not know. Don't know how you hid it so long, either."

"Purloined letter," Yohko offered from below, "we hid in plain sight. In a village full of powerful shinobi, no one really noticed a couple more signatures popping up, especially when they didn't do anything."

Raiden leaned in, "Thank you, Shizune-san. Let me know when you're done with Mitsumi, I'd like to have a little chat about her experiment as soon as possible."

Shizune stared at him blankly. "She was just in a near comatose state, and you already want to start interrogating her?"

"'S alright, Shizune-nee-chan," Mitsumi said, "he's a bastard, but we're used to it. 'Sides, I can't wait to show off! I finally figured something out before him! I've got a custom-balanced kunai, say's he can't pull it off, either."

"I'll take that," Yohko offered, "two days and he tries it himself, same results."

"One day," Juubei countered, "worse results."

Shizune looked at her patient, then at Raiden's sour experssion. "Rebellion in the ranks?"

"Nope," he countered, then sighed, "the gaki are restless."

------------------------------

Quite some distance away, though not as far as some people might have wished, stood a single simple building. It was perched on the side of a mountain, halfway between the tree-line and the summit, on a ledge against a cliff. The building was small, a few yards long, built right against the stone, with a short flight of steps leading to a tiny landing before a solid oak door. Looking out from the landing, a watcher would have a beautiful view of a long, wide valley, covered in towering trees, rich with life and plenty. The rugged mountains around the valley, capped with snow even this early in summer, provided a harsh but stimulating contrast.

The man standing on that landing, wide straw hat and black coat still despite the wind, ignored the scene. His attention was entirely on the oak door before him. The small slit in it had opened briefly, the moment his silent foot touched the landing. It had closed almost instantly, without a sound from either himself or whoever (or whatever, an insidious part of his mind offered) opened it.

He stood there for an hour, ignoring the wind, the chill of altitude, the sounds of the forest behind him. He catalogued all that happened, part of his mind alert for danger even – especially – here. But his attention was entirely focused on the door. Finally, silently, it opened inwards, and a torch appeared, set in an iron bracket on the stone wall.

He did not hesitate. Hesitation was a mark of indecisiveness, and the Master did not approve of such weaknesses in his subordinates. Neither did he rush. The Master also treasured patience, and the more of it one demonstrated, the more like the Master one became, and the more the Master would reward.

He passed through the door into the hall beyond. There was no one behind the door when he passed it, and it closed behind him, as silently as it had opened. He ignored it, as he always did. Contemplating the strangeness of this place's permanent inhabitants was not conducive to sanity. The hallway burrowed into the mountainside, twisting and turning, reversing back upon itself and spiraling around again and again. Something about its pattern teased at his mind, and he knew there were powerful secrets in its construction, secrets of the Master, that were tantalizingly out of reach.

For a time he walked, neither quickly nor slowly. More than an hour, less than a day, the time mattered not. Only the pace, measured and sure, but far from steady. Any faster, a step out of rhythm, and death would claim him, no matter how skilled he was. Finally, he passed from a hallway into a chamber.

It was dark, but not large, approximately as wide as the building on the cliff, and perhaps twice that in length. All of it was shrouded in shadows, the only light a pair of candles flanking the door he entered by. He stopped, precisely one step inside the room, and went to one knee, bowing his head but not daring to remove his hat, lest he look upon the Master directly.

The voice that issued from the darkened depths of the room was soft and sibilant, almost a whisper, but harsh with hatred, anger, distrust, and naked power. "Exssplain yourssself, Tetsssuo."

He had to swallow around a dry throat. He was two weeks overdue, and uncertain if the reason would suffice. "Tono, your servant's humblest apologies. During my travels, I recently found a rumor which bore investigating. It took more time than I expected to confirm. There is something new in Konoha, a technique of great potential."

An angry hiss interrupted him. "Konoha," the tone made word a curse and a caress, "Alwaysss they are coming up with new techniquessss. What makesss thisss one worth Akatsssuki'sss time?"

Shaking with an odd combination of fear and anticipation, Testuo explained, "It is a seal, Tono, created by the Fourth Hokage. More powerful than that which he used to bind the nine-tailed demon sixteen years ago, according to rumor. A seal to unlock the ultimate potentials of the human body and spirit. A group of six Genin had the seal placed on them, and have already proven far stronger than any Genin before them. They defeated a group of ten Stone Village shinobi, five Jounin and five Chuunin. I was not able to obtain compete details, but at least four of the Stone shinobi were killed or captured by these Genin. New Genin, Tono, less than a month from the academy. It would be simple enough to acquire one, should you wish to study them, Tono."

The laughter was harsh and shallow. "You think you could ssstand againssst Konoha ssshinobi? Take one of their preccciousss Genin, without facccing their bessst and brightessst? You are a fool, Tetsssuo, to think you are a match for the Jounin of Konoha. They would defeat you. Easssily. You are no Uchiha Itachi," again the voice was filled with anger and hatred, but Tetsuo knew it wasn't directed at him. The Uchiha had cost Tetsuo's lord his dreams on many occasions, before his death. "No, not jussst yet. Resssume your journeysss, Tetsssuo. Another will bring me information on thisss new ssseal. Leave me."

Again, Tetsuo did not hesitate. He rose, turning in the same motion, and retraced his steps up the tunnel. It was near sunset when he stepped through the door again, back out onto the side of the mountain. He sighed, and reached up to adjust his hat, chuckling slightly at his own sudden relaxation. Every time he came here it was the same. Now that the visit was over and his orders received, Tetsuo was quite comfortable and relaxed. "Oi, Kisame, get your scaly behind out here."

"I'm already here, kid," the oldest living member of Akatsuki and former Mist-nin growled. He was standing to one side of the building, not touching it. He was fingering the broken hilt of Samehade again, staring at the door which had closed behind Tetsuo.

Tetsuo ignored the murderous signs in his partner, "Tono wants us to keep walking."

"I'm tired of walking. It's time and past for that coward to give us a real mission. Why should we walk, when we're both killers? I haven't killed anyone worth the trouble in weeks."

Tetsuo shrugged, and started walking towards the edge of the ledge. "Tono says walk, I walk. You do what you like, fish-boy. I'm not stupid enough to challenge him. Not yet."

Kisame stared at the door a few moments longer, then snarled and followed. Tetsuo almost chuckled, but self-preservation kept the amusement inside. Kisame was skilled and experienced, but even he didn't quite have the nerve to take on Orochimaru in his own lair.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scarecrow-sama: No Kage's'll be getting their tickets punched any time soon, promise. Not what I'm going for. As to the number of characters, this story's an experiment for me on a number of levels, including complexity and characterization, so no promises there, other than that I'll be trying to use their viewpoints once in awhile, instead of just Raiden's. Rumiko'll probably be the hardest, simply because there are only a couple of people she can actually talk to, and I'm finding myself more and more 'conversation driven.' Something _else _to experiment with, I guess. Thanks for reading, I'll try to keep it interesting.


	12. 11 Healers & Hunters

**Rise of the Guardians**

By Daishi Prime

- 11 – Healers & Hunters -

"Well, I haven't seen the four of you in a while," Tsunade muttered from behind steepled fingers. Sitting behind her desk, only her piercing eyes visible, she made quite a formidable impression. "Almost a week, it was so peaceful." She shook her head, glaring at each of the four shinobi before her in turn. Rumiko shifted to stand slightly behind Kuma, when it came to her turn. The movement was automatic, she didn't even think of it, until Tsunade's gaze came to rest on her, one eyebrow shifting slightly higher than the other.

"Well, all good things," Tsunade muttered after a moment, and slammed an open hand down 'lightly' on top of her desk. The loud clap, and a suspicious splintering sound, caused Juubei and Kuma to tense, and Rumiko jumped slightly. Standing off to one side of his students, Kakashi chuckled softly, whether at the Hokage's theatrics or his students' reactions was debatable. Reaching into the drawer that shot open when she struck the desk, Tsunade pulled out a scroll, and flipped it to Kakashi.

"There's a cluster of villages, northwest, that has a bit of a bandit problem. The terrain's fairly open, but there are patches of woods the bandits are using to hide themselves. The local lord knew about them, but couldn't get information on where the bandits were hiding. He's not a bad sort, but you know how peasants see all nobles, and how the nobles see the peasants. The bandits didn't trouble the locals, so the locals saw no reason to rat them out. The villagers came to us, however, when the bandits started harassing a shrine that's roughly centralized between the villages.

"Reports, from the villagers and the lord, indicate nothing more than common bandits with an uncommon knack for hiding in that area, which could just be because half the bandits are local-born. Your job is to go in, scout around, and localize the bandits' hiding places. Once that's done, if you think you can handle them, capture or kill. If there are more than _you_ think your team can handle, _Kakashi_, you're to report to the lord, and give him the locations. He may ask you for support, which would be per standard contracts for assisting armed forces. Questions?"

Juubei raised a hand, before she could nod stating, "What about the lord? Does he know we're coming, and how's he feel about it?"

"Indications are that the lord is both aware and willing to allow you to execute your mission free of interference. If he steps in now, he would have to admit that he couldn't get his own population to assist him, and would loose face. By allowing the villagers to act, he can show his generous nature in allowing his peasants the 'freedom' to act on their own on 'minor matters' like this. He won't interfere, and should be polite, at least, if you do wind up going to him for troops."

A few moments later, Kakashi led his charges out, dismissing them to go get their gear ready for a morning departure. Rumiko made to follow, but a gesture from Sakura made her pause. The gesture turned into a beckon, and Rumiko signed to Juubei, I'll catch up.

He looked at her, then back through the door, and nodded, "ja, ne."

Sakura took her to one side of the Hokage's office, speaking in a whisper. "Yamamato-kun, I wanted to speak with you about your training. It's a little early for most Genin to begin thinking of specializations such as this, but Kakashi and Anko-san have been asking about medical training for you. Did you know about that?"

Rumiko grinned. Of all the shinobi outside her sibs who knew her, only Sakura and Kakashi had shown any interest in learning her personal sign language, so she simply answered, Of course I knew. I am the one who has been asking them for it.

Sakura returned her grin, "I thought so. Those two never think of medic-nins until they're bleeding. If I may ask, why are you interested so soon? Medical jutsus are difficult, Yamamato-kun, very difficult. They require precise control and more detailed knowledge than any other. I've been studying under Tsunade-sama for years now, and I will for more years yet before I'm done. Very few Genin have the control and patience necessary. With the... differences caused by your seal, I'm not sure you would be _able_ to learn, even if you do have the control."  
The seal is why I need to learn, Rumiko argued, its effects disrupt normal medical jutsus, they can't be used on us. I am already the healer for our group, but I do not know enough. I am afraid of causing more damage than I heal.

Sakura studied her for a moment, considering, then nodded in approval. "Yosh. I'm not up to teaching you, there are too many differences between how you and I do things, in how you manipulate chakra, which I just don't understand. But Tsunade-sama is an expert many times over. Nearly a genius."

"What's this 'nearly', gaki?" Tsunade's voice rumbled from her desk, and Rumiko stiffened as she realized the Hokage had been staring at her the whole time. Despite her opening comment, Tsunade's basilisk glare didn't waver from Rumiko, "So, girl, you want to be a medic-nin?"

Iie, Rumiko countered, I just want to learn to heal.

One blond eyebrow twitched higher. "That's what medic-nins _do_, stupid girl."

Rumiko shook her head, they heal, but medic-nin is a title, Hokage-sama, with attendant rights and responsibilities. I want none of those. I need to learn how to heal, since no one else can heal my siblings.

"These techniques require a great deal of control, discipline, precision and knowledge. I'll grant you have the discipline, but I doubt your control and precision, and I know you don't have the knowledge. Medical training of any sort requires an enormous dedication. That is why the medic-nins are treated differently, they _are_ different from other shinobi. They are rewarded for their specialized skills, greatly rewarded, and have concurrent expectations placed on them. If you're going to go through the training, why wouldn't you want the position?"

Rumiko shook her head, I need medical training, Hokage-sama, because I am afraid of harming my siblings. I am the only one of us who has any interest in healing, and I already know enough from the Academy and my own reading to seal cuts, set bones and accelerate healing already taking place. But I cannot repair internal damage, I cannot _start_ healing, and I know I am going to have to, one of these days.

She paused, trying to think of how to make her point. Finally, she decided she would have to break a minor confidence in order to preserve the greater, and explained, I have seen Juubei land on his back in a cluster of caltrops, roll upright, finish the sparring match and then run two kilometers, all without removing the handful of metal spikes sticking out of his back. He literally did not feel them. Raiden is worse. He would do the same, but he would be deliberately ignoring the pain and damage, where Juubei was simply unaware of it. I have to be able to deal with such damage, and worse, because no one else can.

"Others could learn to heal you. I have already learned to compensate for the chakra-overpressure's disturbance of healing techniques, Sakura has as well, though she's too lazy to admit it." The younger medic made a protesting sound, but Tsunade rolled on, "We aren't as efficient as with normal shinobi, but it still works."

But neither you nor Sakura are on our teams, neither of you will be with us in the field, and... there is more to this than simple healing, Hokage-sama. I also want to learn how the body works, so that I can determine how the Seal has changed ours. All you have to do is look at us to see that the Seal has had disastrous physical effects. If I can figure out what it changed, how it changed us, maybe I can remove the bad effects without losing the Seal itself.

Tsunade remained silent after she stopped signing, eyes narrowing further as she thought, and Rumiko shifted slightly under her gaze, moving weight back and forth between her feet. Finally, the Hokage said, "There's more to this, isn't there? Something's wrong with the lot of you, and you don't want us to know about it." Rumiko blinked in surprise, and started to refute the statement, but Tsunade cut her off, "Don't lie to me, girl. I've been training shinobi since your parents were in diapers, I know how to read someone, especially an anxious Genin. What is it?"

Rumiko closed her eyes and debated furiously for a second to try and find a way around the order, then signed, I cannot say, Hokage-sama. I am their doctor, for all intents and purposes, and...

"Doctor-patient privilege, is it? You aren't civilians, girl."

No, but I do not betray confidences placed in me. She bowed deeply, before continuing, my apologies for taking up your time, Hokage-sama, forget I asked. She turned and started for the door.

"Stop right there," Tsunade scowled a little harder, then shook her head, "Sakura," the pink-haired Chunin leaned over slightly, "I just realized I have not seen any sort of physicals on any of these delinquents. I know some were done after the incident with Hinata, but I haven't even seen those. This should have been done months ago, when we first found out about them, but it slipped my mind. Schedule full physical workups on all six... no, make that all seven of them. Hinata's should provide a good before-and-after comparison."

"Hai, Hokage-sama," Sakura responded. Though she didn't write anything down, Rumiko was sure it would be done by the end of the day, though.

Tsunade turned her glare back to Rumiko. "As for you, girl… you and your sibs are all getting checked out. I require your cooperation, including that you, as the only member of either team with any sort of medical capability, provide full details of any medical problems you are aware of in yourself and your siblings. That is not an option, Genin, that is an order."

Rumiko could feel her heart beating faster in her chest, her blood-pressure rising with stress, her muscles tensing and a headache beginning. She could not reveal something she had been told in confidence, but she also could not disobey a direct order, not from this woman. Haltingly, Hokage... I... Hokage-sama... I cannot...

Tsunade waved a hand dismissively, "Don't have a heart-attack, Genin. A written report, provided to Sakura before the exams begin will suffice. For the moment, no details, but what, in general, is the issue?"

Thank you, Hokage-sama, Rumiko signed, relaxing slightly, and I do not believe it is so bad. I believe the Seal is still affecting us, still changing us, but I do not know enough of what a human body is supposed to be like to tell, and no one who has not been with us will be able to determine the changes as quickly as I can, once I have the training to know what I am looking at.

"I'd argue that point, girl, but I see where you're going. Hinata used the same reasoning, when she took the Seal herself. Bit more valid for you, but not by much."

"We can always use more medic-nins, Hokage-sama," Sakura offered, "even unofficial ones. And the hospital staff is tired of seeing Kodachi-kun in there every few weeks."

"Hai, hai," Tsunade muttered, "I'll think about it. Get that report to Sakura, Yamamato, and warn your siblings about the physicals. No shirking! You'll go when Sakura schedules you, or I'll have your hide! I'll let you know then, what my decision is on extra lessons for you."

Thank you, Hokage-sama, Rumiko bowed again, and at Tsunade's wave, slipped out the door.

Once she was gone, Tsunade raised an eyebrow at her youngest apprentice as the younger woman moved around her desk. "That wasn't supposed to come up until they got back, Sakura. Any particular reason you're pushing for her on this?"

Sakura flushed a little, "Ah, I just thought you would appreciate having another medic-nin, Hokage-sama. You _are_ always complaining about the shortage."

"That girl will no more become a medic-nin than you will a Sound shinobi, girl. And don't try that 'formal respect' routine on me!"

Sakura smiled, shifting another report in front of her mentor, "Yamamato-kun is interesting, Tsunade-sama. I think she will make a good medic-nin, and better that one of their own treat them properly, than we tie up several medic-nins who can only patch them up."

"I'll think about it," Tsunade muttered, already reading the report, one hand going automatically, but slowly, for the small white bottle to her left.

Sakura was out of the office when there was a curse behind her, followed almost immediately the sound of something shattering against the door. "Sakura! Gaki! What did you do with my sake!"

------------------------------

It took them three days to reach the region, traveling fast and light. Most of the distance was covered through the Fire Country's justifiably famous forests, towering trees shadowing leagues of country. On the third day, the forests thinned drastically, the trees growing smaller and sparser until there were only a few scattered groves amidst rolling fields of grass and farms.

When they reached the last river before their mission territory, they found a trading village where Kakashi arranged passage on a ferry. The river was wide and slow, brown from silt and mud, a half-mile wide where they crossed. Rumiko had never seen a river like it before, even the Tora north of Konoha wasn't as wide and deep. She found herself entranced throughout the short voyage by the play of water around the boat's hull, creating a stream of chakra, as Hinata was training them to, and using it like a stick to probe and swirl the bow-wake. Juubei and Kuma, for their parts, crouched or lounged on the mid-ships rails, obviously bored, while Kakashi sat atop the pilot-house, reading slowly through his by-now famous pocket-book.

At the bow, even distracted by the play of water, Rumiko was the first to notice their welcoming committee. The village across the river was, like its counterpart, a trading village, but it was smaller, with only a single dock. Standing on the end of the dock, in plain view, was a young man wearing the wide blue pants and white overcoat of a priest. She took a few moments to study him, as the ferry closed with the dock, taking in his steady stare, the hands folded in voluminous sleeves, and the scar down one side of his face.

Once she had his appearance committed to memory, she slipped back down the side of the boat, nudging Juubei as she passed him. She reached Kakashi, and tugged on one dangling leg. The copy-nin glanced up, and raised his visible eyebrow.

Someone is waiting for us, she signed, finishing by pointing at the dock. Probably a priest from the shrine we are going to, some sort of fighter in the past, but not shinobi.

Kakashi hummed for a moment, also studying the figure on the dock, then shrugged, "Mah, probably our employer. Scroll said something 'bout an escort."

"You couldn't have maybe told us that before," Juubei asked?

"Ah, oops," the Jounin grinned at them through his mask, eye disappearing, "slipped my mind. Gomen."

Juubei snorted in disbelief. When Kakashi returned to reading his book, Juubei waved Kuma over, and the three of them spent the time before the ferry docked discussing the priest, and who had responsibility for watching him, while he was with them.

The man in question waited until the ferry was docked and the four shinobi had stepped off the boat. Once they were, he stepped forward, bowing in greeting to Kakashi. "Welcome to the Hakutsuru Prefecture, Jounin-san."

"Ahh, thank you...," Kakashi murmured back.

"Benjiro," the priest introduced himself, "I have been sent from the Okuninushi Shrine to escort you thence. I am prepared, whenever you are ready to travel. It is not far, perhaps half a day afoot."

"We're ready to go now, sensei," Juubei commented, "The sooner we get out of this village, the less likely someone is to report us to the people we're here to see."

"Oh, I'm afraid the bandits are already well aware that you are coming," Benjiro informed them. All four shinobi turned to stare at him, and he flushed slightly, the scar on his face becoming clearer. "Ah, I'm afraid that, in an effort to reassure the villagers, they were informed that a shinobi team had been hired. As many of the villagers are part of the bandit group themselves, there can be no doubt that the 'bandits' are well aware that you are coming."

"Wonderful," Juubei snarled, "so much for our one strategic advantage. No way we'll surprise them now."

"Mah, it's not that bad," Kakashi murmured, waving a hand 'calmingly' towards his student, "they're bandits, not shinobi. We'll handle them, eventually. But we should get moving. The sooner we're at the shrine, the sooner we can begin tracking the bandits and planning their capture. Lead on, Benjiro-kun."

For the first few miles, the priest attempted to keep up a running commentary. He pointed out what crops were growing in nearby fields, villages of interest, road-shrines and other minor points. When the four shinobi proved less than willing to converse, he eventually fell silent, for which Rumiko was glad. His chatter made it difficult to hear other sounds, and all four shinobi were now on guard. If she had been a bandit, and knew someone was coming in to capture her, she would have laid an ambush for them as soon as possible, preferably before they acquired local support, such as Benjiro, and she knew the others were even more paranoid than she was. That was made especially obvious when Juubei signaled for her to watch Benjiro for any signs of treachery, and Kakashi nodded his agreement.

The priest appeared normal enough. He was a little old for what Rumiko took to be a junior position at the shrine, but before he fell silent revealed that he had once been a soldier in service to the Daimyos of Fire Country. He was quiet, composed, and if he was more watchful than she would have expected from a priest, that could easily be explained by his status as a veteran. On the other hand, that watchfulness could also easily be the product of years of banditry, and his current need to spot his allies' ambush.

Despite the paranoia, and a close call involving an unsuspecting farmer's out-of-control oxen, the five travelers reached the central Shrine of Okuninushi shortly before sunset that day. The terrain had been mostly fields, but the patches of wooded land had been large, square miles covered in short, scrubby trees and underbrush, any of which could have provided excellent cover for a small camp.

The Shrine itself was located in such a stand, though the trees were somewhat larger and, around the shrine, better tended and thinned. A single central building, containing the shrine's artifacts, was substantial, with a high peaked roof, a main floor raised several feet off the ground on a stone foundation, and sealed against the elements. Several smaller buildings surrounded it, storehouses and quarters for the four priests who maintained the shrine, all solidly but simply built. Surrounding the whole was a rail fence, with a traditional arched entryway. The path through the woods was also marked by archways, formed by the simple expedient of tying the branches of nearby trees together until they grew, twisting together, into a single whole.

Signs of the attack on the shrine were clear. Several of the arches over the path had been severed or torn down, and the storehouse closest to the shrine's entrance was missing part of the roof and one wall, with obvious fire damage, though it did not appear to have been truly set ablaze.

As they approached the shrine, Rumiko noticed that Juubei and Kuma seemed to become uncomfortable with something. She could not determine what it was, but she could tell from little signs that the two of them were manifestly uncomfortable. At first, she thought it was just the two of them, since Kakashi did not seem in the least perturbed, but then she remembered that nothing bothered the perverted Jounin, and became concerned that she was missing something. She, in contrast, could not help but feel a sense of comfort as she entered the woods, a sense of the familiar which she put down to growing up in Konoha's great woods. When they reached the fence line Juubei and Kuma stopped suddenly, several feet from the last arch, both staring intently at the shrine. They traded a look, and glanced at Rumiko, but she just blinked at them, not understanding what they were looking for.

Juubei spoke first, "Ah, Kakashi-sensei? How about the three of us take a look around, while you talk with the priests? Get a quick recon in while you question them?"

"Hmmm? It's rather late. Wouldn't you like to get some rest? We've got days yet, before we'll be doing anything dangerous."

"We will be more comfortable with a check of the local area," Kuma rumbled, "perimeter check."

"Mah, okay. Have fun, don't get killed."

I will stay with sensei, Rumiko signed, make sure the priests do not banish him for bringing perverted works onto holy ground.

Juubei and Kuma both gave her another odd look, "Ah, Rumiko, wouldn't you be more comfortable..."

You two go ahead, she cut Juubei off, returning his quizzical look with one of her own, I am fine. She could not understand why he was trying to get all three of them away. They had talked with Raiden and the others, after the rescue of the Hyuuga, and determined that one of them should stay with Kakashi at all times, since getting separated from him had gotten the three of them hurt, successful though the mission had been. After a second, Juubei shrugged, nodded, and vanished into the woods. Kuma disappeared a moment later. Rumiko continued to stare at where they had disappeared, then made an exasperated noise, and followed her teacher into the shrine.

The instant she stepped through the arch, she felt an incredible sense of peace and welcome wash over her. It was similar, in some ways, to the sense of safety and security she felt in the Dojo, only much stronger, clearer. It was so strong, and so clear, that she froze in place, immediately suspicious of a genjutsu. Kakashi and Benjiro continued walking, heading for a side building, while she stood in place and wrestled with the strange feeling, staring about suspiciously as she attempted to locate the source.

Finally, unable to do so, she followed Kakashi into the side building, apparently the priests' house. Inside, she shortly found Benjiro and Kakashi ensconced with two other priests, discussing the bandits. She moved into the room slowly and carefully, still looking for the source of whatever was affecting her, so only Kakashi noticed her.

"Ah, Rumiko-kun, I thought you were doing recon?"

She shook her head, someone has to watch your back, sensei. He chuckled, then introduced her to the two new priests, who he identified to her only as Keichi and Nikki, the head priest and another under-priest. Apparently the fourth member of the staff was in a nearby village blessing a wedding.

Nikki nodded from his place, appearing in all respects to be a younger, non-veteran, version of Benjiro. Keichi, however, was quite clearly something more. For one thing, he was an old man, though not stooped or withered with his years. For another, Rumiko felt a strange sort of connection to him, a sense of distant familiarity, which she was at a loss to explain, as she knew she had never seen him before. More importantly, there was a sense of great power about him, and not at all the sort of power she was used to feeling from shinobi.

Keichi, unlike his subordinate, stared at her hard, obviously taking in everything about her. The force of his attention brought her on guard again, and she fell into a defensive stance without thought. When her left hand came up on guard, she and Keichi both noticed the same thing – the seal on her hand was glowing with a soft greenish light. Kakashi noticed it a moment later.

"Mah, Rumiko-kun, you're stance is off. You need to tighten up on your arms, bring them in closer. And why is your seal glowing? These priests won't hurt you."

Keichi stood before she could answer, turning fully towards her. She tensed, unsure what was happening, but he did not approach. Rather, he bowed, deeply, saying, "Welcome, Onee-san. You honor this house with your presence."

The other two priests stared at him in surprise, while Kakashi made a random noise. Rumiko, for her part, simply stared at him as he remained bowed over, hands folded together, apparently waiting for her response. She blinked, tried for a few seconds to think what to do, then gave it up as a lost cause. I am going to check the grounds, she told Kakashi, then slipped back out the way she had come.

She did check the grounds, checking over each of the outer buildings for any signs of trouble, danger, or whatever was causing her to feel so comfortable in such unfamiliar surroundings. The only thing of interest she found in the outer buildings was the damaged storehouse, where a crudely made kunai was half-hidden under fallen timbers.

It was when she entered the main building of the shrine that she found the source of her calm, and yet another cause for concern. Beneath the high peaked roof was a single large chamber, stretching from the double doors in the front to the rear wall. Lining the sides were signs and symbols of worship of Okuninushi, as she expected, normal and uninteresting. Against the rear wall, however, was a stone statue of the god himself, Susanuo's weapons in one hand, a rolled up scroll in the other, a lute cradled in his lap. In the center of the statue's forehead, above the wisely smiling face, was a single kanji character, now glowing with a soft green light, the same character which formed the center of her Seal.

She was still staring at that character when Keichi entered the shrine behind her. She did not feel his presence until he entered, but spun to face him when she did detect his approach. He bowed again, though not as deeply, and rose to approach. When she sidled backwards, he spread his hands in a non-threatening manner, and walked around her to stand beneath the statue. After a few moments of silence, he half-turned to her, and raised an eyebrow. "Please, onee-san, relax. I will not harm you, no matter where we may meet. I will certainly not do so before the Lord of this shrine. Your Lord."

She finally relaxed, slightly, but still did not trust him. After a moment, she asked, Why are you calling me onee-san?

He blinked at her as she signed, then shook his head, "My apologies, onee-san. Your leader informed me of your... impediment... but I am afraid I do not understand the meanings of your hand signs." He turned fully towards her, and sank to the ground in a lotus position, waving for her to do the same. Hesitantly, she chose a spot several yards away, and sank into a crouch, hand resting on her knees. He smiled wryly at her continued distrust, but did not attempt to move closer.

"I am the eldest priest at this shrine, one of the eldest in Okuninushi's service," he explained, "and thus, have developed my senses more than most priests, more even than most shinobi. I am no shinobi myself, and would never presume to your full capabilities, however I am quite good at noticing things, and I am more familiar with the healing arts than all save a few sages in the greatest cities. I am familiar, for instance, with the current Hokage of Konoha, having met her, oh, it must be a decade ago, now." He paused for a moment, remembering that meeting, then continued, "With that knowledge of healing, I have come to know quite a lot about people, and how to read them. I knew, the instant he walked into the room, that your leader is both more of a pervert than most, yet less of one than he likes to pretend. He no doubt has a book that does not belong on these grounds, whether of words or pictures, but Benjiro has hidden worse, I am sure. Both are good men, yet neither is perfect.

"You, onee-san, present something of a challenge. As with your leader, I knew there was something about you as soon as you walked in the room, something familiar, yet I could not, at first, place it. The mark on your hand made it clear, however. You have been marked by Okuninushi, even as this statue behind me, and that mark is reacting to your entry into this shrine."

He paused, then held out his hands again, "Forgive an old man, onee-san, I mean no disrespect to you by this gesture, but it will prove my point." With that, he slowly opened his white jacket, pulling it down off his shoulders and allowing it to pool about his elbows and waist. Beneath it, he had what she first took to be a bandage across his chest, but he reached up and pulled it down. Just over his heart, the same kanji symbol that adorned the statue and Rumiko's left hand glowed with a soft green light. "This mark appeared over my heart the day I took up my duties as head priest of this shrine, as it does for all true priests of Okuninushi when they come to a position such as this. He likes to mark us out, so that we may recognize each other, and so that others in need of healing may recognize us. Out of caution of strangers, I cover it. In time, when I pass beyond this illusion, Benjiro or Ryobe will take over, and the mark will appear on them. While yours is in a strange place, the mark is undoubtedly that of Okuninushi, and the reaction of the statue is further proof. Nikki, as a child, witnessed it take on that glow, for a few minutes, when the mark appeared on me, and now it glows again. It has been glowing for most of the day, in fact, growing brighter. No doubt, its brightness increased as you approached closer to the shrine."

While he spoke, Rumiko listened, but also began rummaging in her pack. Eventually, she managed to find what she was looking for – a pen and notebook. Tearing out a sheet of paper, she wrote down, 'the mark did not appear, it is part of a Seal which my onee-chan placed on me. Okuninushi did not choose me.' She folded it into a swan, and flicked it to him with just enough chakra behind it to insure the origami landed in his hand. Then she swung her pack back on and strode for the door.

She was almost there, when Kakashi appeared, "Mah, Rumiko-kun, there you are. Your brothers are being very strange. They don't seem to want to come into the shrine. Juubei's talking about camping out to 'get a feel for the land,' or something."

I will bring them, she replied, and slipped past him.

Standing at the entrance, just outside it, were Kuma and Juubei, glaring at the shrine with undisguised mistrust. Rumiko walked over, milling over what the priest had told her. She was almost there when she heard the tail end of a comment from Juubei to Kuma, "...can she stand to be in there?"

"Don't know," Kuma answered, "but you can ask her yourself. Come here, 'Miko, where we can see you, ne?"

She stepped closer, asking, what do you mean, how can I stand to be here, onii-chan?

Juubei twisted his face into a sour expression, "This place just feels off, uncomfortable. Something here doesn't want us to be here, Rumiko, can't you feel it?"

She glared right back, then, looked at Kuma. "I feel it, too," he said, "something in this shrine does not welcome us."

It welcomes me, she told them, all I feel is a sense of welcome and comfort.

"That just makes me more suspicious," Juubei answered, "something's trying to separate us. What say we all just camp out here in the woods and start hunting for bandits in the morning?"

Be reasonable, Rumiko countered, we are in unfamiliar ground, with known hostiles looking for us. If we 'camp out', we will be vulnerable, with multiple avenues of approach and fewer eyes to guard those approaches. We can trap the areas around the shrine easily, and one of us can keep watch over ground this open without even trying.

"Why do you not invite your fellows in, onee-san?"

Keichi's voice came from the porch around the shrine, and she turned to glare at him through the evening's darkness, shifting that glare to her teacher after a second, despite his standing silently behind the priest. Why don't you, priest?

She saw Kakashi lean in, and hoped he was translating. Keichi tilted his head to the side, and answered her, "Because they are _your _fellows, onee-san, not mine. I do not know them, thus it would not be my place to vouch to Okuninushi for their good behavior while within the bounds of his shrine."

She stared at him for a moment, knew he was testing her somehow, and tried to figure out what he meant. A simple 'come on in' would not work, she knew that, it had to be something else, but what? Switching the stare between the priest, her Seal, and the still-slightly-visible statue, she finally realized what it was she had to do.

She turned back to Juubei and Kuma, who were themselves glaring at the priest distrustfully. Juubei, Kuma, do you both promise to do no harm while you are within these boundaries?

"What?" Juubei was plainly insulted, "What the hell is that supposed to mean, Rumiko?"

Exactly what I said, baka! Do you promise to do no harm while you are within these boundaries?

He was about to snap at her again, when Kuma rumbled, "I promise to do no harm while within the boundaries of this shrine."

Juubei turned his stare to Kuma, "Are you both insane? What if the bandits attack the shrine again? What they hell are you going to do then?"

Kakashi and I will deal with an attack on the shrine, Rumiko told him, you and Kuma will not. Promise, Juubei, or you aren't setting foot on these grounds.

He glared at her for a moment, then sighed and shook his head. "You're insane, Rumiko. Off the deep end. But... I promise to do no harm while within these boundaries."

Rumiko nodded, smiling at him reassuringly, Then, Kuma, Juubei, I invite you within the safety of the shrine. Come in, be welcome as guests, and the priests of this place will assure your safety.

Juubei looked at her oddly, then blinked glanced around, quickly. "What did you do, Rumiko?"

"The hostility's... not gone," Kuma commented, "just muted."

"She has extended the protection of Okuninushi to the two of you while you remain within the boundaries of this shrine, and while you fulfill your vow to do no harm here," Keichi told them, walking over from the porch. He handed the swan back to her, then continued, "As is her right, as one marked by Okuninushi. Come, young ones, dinner is waiting."

I will explain later, Rumiko signed, as much as I understand. For now, come, we must rest before the hunt begins tomorrow. Written beneath her note, in a neater script than her own, 'you are wrong, onee-san. Had Okuninushi not chosen you, the seal would never have appeared on your hand.'

------------------------------

That night, she explained what Keichi had told her, including descriptions of the statue. She tried to show them, but the doors were closed by then, and the two boys felt the sense of foreboding return full force when they tried to climb the steps. Unwilling to approach the old priest again, the three of them settled for questions they would study on returning to Konoha, the Dojo, and the journal.

They spent the next two days scouting the region around the shrine for signs of the bandits. Kakashi split them into two groups, taking first Rumiko and then Kuma with him, while the other Genin went with Juubei. His plan for these days was simply recon, gathering information, and when they did find signs of the bandits' camps, including an occupied one, they simply noted its presence, counted the number of men in each, and withdrew unobserved. Each night, they gathered at the shrine once more, compiled their notes on a map Kakashi produced, and discussed the best ways of either eliminating or capturing the bandits.

It rapidly became apparent that, appearances aside, the group was rather small, perhaps two dozen men armed, at best, with slings and axes. They had several camps, however, and filtered their members between them on a nightly basis. A few villagers filled out their numbers for any raid, taking a tiny cut of the loot as payment before returning to their mundane lives.

The nexus of the group appeared to be a married couple who Rumiko and Juubei discovered on the second day, at one of the more permanent camps. The two were slightly better dressed than the other bandits, and obviously trained fighters, judging from the sparring match Juubei and Rumiko witnessed. It was also obvious they were claiming to be shinobi, though if they had any such training, they had never graduated from their village's academy. Juubei identified the kunai they were using as matching the one Rumiko found, and after that, the two departed swiftly for their next objective. Kakashi was vaguely interested, but decided that the presence of the two 'shinobi' did not constitute a significant enough piece of information to change their objective or plans.

The third day was planned to be more of the first. They had, between the two teams, managed to cover about half of the region in the first two days, and Kakashi planned to complete the recon before moving against the bandits. At present, that plan seemed to revolve around setting up a reverse ambush, drawing the bandits into attacking something, and surprising them there for a single, concentrated fight. After that, the entire team would check each campsite in turn to verify that no one escaped. The only addition Kakashi made to the planned sweep for day three was to have Juubei and Rumiko check on their 'couple' again, once their sweep for new targets was complete.

They were almost done, the sun falling to the western sky, when they completed their assigned sweep, and began the return to the shrine. Juubei swung wide of a direct course, and they soon found themselves sneaking up on the leaders' camp again, as cautiously as they could. Its small size, and the fact that it was buried deep in a larger grove made that easier, but also made it easier for the bandits' occasional look-outs to escape notice, so they moved carefully. They were being so careful, they did not immediately notice anything wrong.

It was not until they were almost in the camp that Rumiko realized there was no sound coming from it. The day before, there had been a small amount of noise, by bandit standards – quiet conversations, some snoring, sounds of people moving about. Not much by most standards, but plenty loud enough by shinobi standards. Now, there were none, just the sound of wind through the trees.

Juubei noticed it at almost the same time, and they both froze in place. After a moment, he looked back at her questioningly. She signed, I do not hear anything, but I can still smell a fire. Something else, too, but it's too far away, I can't identify it. They haven't abandoned the camp, but they aren't here.

Juubei nodded, signing back, Swing north a ways, stay in sight but open the distance. We will head in, and check, then fall back and report. I will handle any combat, your mission is to get word back to Kakashi. Understood?

Rumiko nodded, then complied, moving north until she was several yards away from Juubei. Once she was in place, and they had both checked the area again for threats, they began moving forward again, even more cautiously. They stopped again when the bandits' camp came into view, peering through the intervening branches to examine the scene.

What they could see was a horror show. They had counted twenty-three people in this camp, the day before, and a few seconds showed all of them still present. They were scattered about, sprawled all over the ground, over their tents, and over each other, every one of them dead. The two shinobi-imitators were the only ones still vertical, tied to their own tent-poles, but also plainly dead. The sight, the realization that the scent she couldn't identify was blood, and the plain brutality with which the people had been killed almost made her vomit. For several seconds, she struggled to control her nausea, and her horror.

It was Juubei who brought her back under control, signing frantically from behind cover. Hostile! Hostile! There is someone still in there. The potential threat gave her a distraction, and she nodded sharply. When he saw her acknowledgment, he signed, watch my back, I am going to get a closer look

Be careful, she replied, turning against the tree she was in to watch behind them.

He nodded, and leaned around his own tree, to plan his approach. Just before he stepped out, however, they both heard, quite clearly, "Come on, kids, get in here, already. I'm getting bored waiting for you." The rumbling, faintly amused voice jarred both of them, and they glanced at each other in surprise. "There are two of you, I can hear you both. Smell something the girl's wearing. Come on in, I'm not gonna hurt ya. Hell, I just wanna meet ya, talk for a bit, see what's up."

They continued to stare at each other for a few moments, then Juubei's face hardened. We need info, he told her.

But not at the cost of ourselves, she signed back. Be careful, I will get whatever we learn to Sensei.

The two of them moved in closer, dropping to the ground widely separated. Sitting amidst the carnage, a young man warmed his hands at the largest fire. He was obviously a shinobi, from the kunai and shuriken holsters to his relaxed stance. The fact that he had not a speck of blood on him was, in a way, the final proof for Rumiko. She had no doubt that Kakashi was capable of the same sort of impeccable slaughter, which did not help her nerves.

Instead of focusing on him, however, she studied the bodies. Fear of the strange shinobi warred with revulsion at the evidence of his actions, but fear won easily. She had seen blood before, even death, if not in this degree. She had never before encountered a shinobi this skilled who was not a native of Konoha.

"Hmm, not what I was expecting," he said, "but passable. Have a seat, I'll make us some tea." He reached over a body without seeming to notice, and lifted a wooden tripod. He settled it over the fire, then picked up a kettle from nearby. He dumped the contents and took a few moments to re-fill it. For their part, Juubei and Rumiko kept their distance. They moved in close enough to hear, close enough to converse, but not close enough to be easy targets.

Once he had the kettle heating, the stranger settled back to warming his hands over the fire again. He finally glanced up, brushing the black hair off his rugged face. He took his time, considering each of them in turn as Juubei returned his regard. As they stared, Juubei began signing information to Rumiko, as she continued to study the bodies. She returned, just as quickly, one other, strong like Kuma, but much more brutal. Couldn't be this guy, wrong muscle structure.

Keep an eye out, Juubei told her.

"Hmm, you kids wanna stop that? It's rude, talking in front of someone when they can't understand, ne?"

"Who are you," Juubei demanded?

"Oh, just a traveler. Was passing through when I noticed you kids. I've been wanting to have a talk with some Konoha shinobi for a while, now, and figured I'd take this opportunity."

"Why not just go to Konoha? It's not like you're an S-class criminal, is it?"

The man chuckled deeply, "No, I'm not _yet_ an S-class criminal. Going to be, in a few years, I'm sure. Just need to get the name out there. My partner, now, he's an S-class, far and away. 'Course, he's getting a little long in the tooth, but don't tell him I said that."

Both of them tensed at his admission, causing him to chuckle again. Rumiko began scanning the area around them again, pushing her senses harder to try and find the shinobi's partner. "Relax," he said, "like I told you, I'm not gonna hurt you. Not today, anyhow. The Master wouldn't take it well, and I've no interest in finding out how many ways he's thought of to kill me. Makes for nightmares, don't you know."

"And killing all these people doesn't?"

"Hah, these were nothing, kid. Just a bunch of peons with delusions of adequacy. They'd've gotten in the way of our conversation, and I hate interruptions, especially from my inferiors."

"Why are you talking to us, then?"

"I'm curious," the shinobi admitted, leaning forward to stare at Juubei intently. "Did it hurt?"

Juubei quirked an eyebrow at him, "did what hurt? Having to listen you? Certainly."

The shinobi smiled grimly over steepled hands, "No, gaki. The Seal, that even now is becoming visible on the back of your hand as you gather in your chakra."

Juubei hissed, but Rumiko managed to contain her shock enough to maintain watch. "What are you talking about?" Subtly, as smoothly she could, Rumiko slid her thumb over a shuriken, then drew it out and across the back of her left hand. The flash of heat as the Seal channeled chakra to its companions, thinking, _Please, be close, Kuma._

"I know quite a lot about that seal of yours. I'm just curious, did it hurt? Does it still hurt? How well can you control it? That seal of yours has interesting potential, and I'm curious. The Master will find out all about it through other means, but I don't think he'll share that information with me. Now, what did you just do, my pretty little kunoichi?"

She could not help twitching in surprise, as he grabbed her left wrist and pulled it up to where he could inspect it. She hadn't even seen him move, he had been so fast. He leaned down, grip hard enough to hold, yet not crushing, and studied the glowing blue characters on her hand, carefully wiping away the blood with his thumb to clear his view. "Interesting," he said after a moment, "I'm no genjutsu specialist, mind you, but definitely interesting."

"Let her go," Juubei was growling now, kunai in each hand.

The shinobi looked over at him, and smiled. "Certainly," he said, stepping back, letting Rumiko go. He bowed, gallantly, then vanished again. "Relax, I told you I'm not going to hurt you," he reiterated, again sitting by the fire. "But I am curious. What did she do? Normally, blood is only used in a summoning jutsu, yet I see no creatures. Given that I know you placed that seal on yourselves, I doubt she failed at whatever jutsu it was, but it can't have been a summoning."

"It doesn't matter," Juubei told him, shifting back from the fire. "I'd demand your surrender, murderer, but I doubt you'd give it. Even if you did, I don't think I could trust it, could I?"

The shinobi chuckled again, shaking his head. He leaned forward, checking the kettle over the fire before answering. "Kid, if surrendering was in my nature, I'd have died a long time ago in much prettier country than this." He paused, tapping his lips with one finger contemplatively, "prettier company, too. No offense, girl."

Rumiko ignored him. She could sense someone moving in the woods, but couldn't tell if it was Kuma and Kakashi, or this guy's partner. Expecting the worst, she tried to keep close to Juubei without getting caught between whoever it was and the shinobi behind her.

Juubei stepped back as well, "Then it's time we were leaving, Onee-chan."

"Awe, so soon? And here I thought we were starting to get along. Here I was going finally get some answers from the only people who know the truth."

"No," Juubei growled, "you weren't."

"Too bad," another man answered, "that means these pathetic wastes were as useless in death as they were in life."

Now Rumiko was armed, staring at the towering black figure with the blue face. She recognized the black coat, covered in red clouds – any shinobi from Konoha knew that coat, almost as well as they would the off-white tunic and purple rope-belt of the Sound.

"Ah, Kisame," the stranger was almost whining, "why'd you have to come back now? I was just getting them to calm down. We were gonna have some tea. Should be ready soon, want some?"

"You're insane, Tetsuo," Kisame rumbled. "The Hatake is coming, with their other teammate."

_Thank you, Spirits,_ Rumiko thought, shifting slightly to one side, trying to get out from between the two Akatsuki. Kisame moved with her, however, keeping her pinned between them, glaring at her.

"Ah, well, in that case, I'm afraid we'll have to have a drink some other time."

Kisame disagreed, "What's your hurry, boy? You can play with the kids, while I take down the Copy-Nin."

"Do you really want to piss off the Master? He said travel, not fight. We're just here to keep an eye on things, bruiser."

The towering missing-nin from the Mist snarled, flexing his hand about what Rumiko had taken to be a tonfa, but now realized was a broken sword of some sort. She also noticed that he was missing two fingers on that hand, not even stumps remaining. "I want his head."

"You couldn't take it two years ago, Kisame, you won't be able to now, either. Let's head out, before we risk our necks just to piss off the Master."

She didn't hear Tetsuo leave behind her. Kisame was another matter. He glared at her, then at Juubei, and muttered, "Next time, kids. Tell your wet-nurse, that I'll have his head next time." Then he strolled off into the woods, in no hurry whatsoever.

Once he was gone, Juubei muttered, "Let's get out of here. I'd rather not meet Kakashi-sensei in here."

------------------------------

As soon as Juubei mentioned 'Akatsuki', Kakashi cut short the field briefing, and ordered the three Genin back to the shrine. There, when he finally returned a few hours later, he conducted a more relaxed debrief. According to him, the tracks of the two criminals vanished just at the edge of the woods, and they may as well have disappeared. Once assured that they weren't in the area, he started probing their reasons for being there in the first place.

"The younger one kept going on about how he was curious about us," Juubei repeated for the fifth time, "Us, specifically, the Guardians. They knew about us."

"Only matter of time," Kuma commented, "'fore others started hearing about us. Have to be more careful."

"Raiden's going to flip," Juubei agreed.

"Mah, you kids are lucky," Kakashi told them. "Last time the Akatsuki were 'curious' about someone, it was the Kyuubi and Shukaku."

Juubei considered that for a moment, then shook his head, "I honestly don't think this guy was going to kill us. The old one, sure, though he seemed more interested in you..."

"He should be," Kakashi muttered, "I almost killed him a couple years ago."

"Almost?"

"Thought he was dead, left him for it. Bit of a hurry to get to some comrades trying to deal with Uchiha Itachi. Why don't you think he was going to kill you? Once he had his info..."

Because he did not hurt me, Rumiko signed, then showed him her left wrist. After a moment, she continued, he was fast, got a strong grip on my wrist, but did not even raise a bruise. He scared me, but, as he had said he would not, did not hurt me.

"Hmmm? Gave you a false sense of security, ne?"

Not really. I am no fool, sensei, to think a pretty carnivore is any less a carnivore. But do we not question people when on espionage missions, without killing them? That is what this feels like to me. They were scouting, possibly looking for us, but scouting none the less.

"Mah, who knows," Kakashi said after a moment. "For now, get some rest. We'll round up the last of the bandits tomorrow, and start for home. Most trouble we'll have is finding them, now that they're all probably running for the hills."

Kakashi's prediction proved accurate as, the next morning, their combined sweep of all the camps showed signs of hasty evacuation. When noon rolled around, and their attempts to track down the fleeing bandits led nowhere but to villages where 'everyone's always been here', Kakashi had them return to the shrine. Keichi was quite content with their efforts, certain that the shrine would not be troubled again, and wished them well as they packed.

Rumiko was again bringing up the rear of the party as they left. Keichi stopped her before she could leave the gate, pulling her aside for a moment. "Onee-san, please forgive this interruption. I wanted you to have this." He held out a package, cloth wrapped around a square object. She took it, hesitantly, looked at him quizzically. The past days had calmed her worst suspicions, but she still did not believe the old priest's claims. "It is a book, nothing more. I think you will find it useful, I certainly did when I began my training as a healer. It contains common cures, with some explanation of why each one works. Please, be careful with it. It was old when my master gave it to me, and is quite fragile."

Rumiko blinked at him, then shook her head. She couldn't accept something that valuable, especially not since she was certain Konoha's library already had more accurate books than this. Keichi took his hands away, however, and smiled. "I believe you are chosen by Okuninushi, onee-san, and I know you are interested in healing. My own beliefs, and my oath to Okuninushi require me to answer that interest with teaching, and this small token is the best my humble means can provide you. Please, take it. Also, consider it an apology, of sorts. I must inform my fellow priests of your existence. They should provide you aide, if you request it politely, but not all priests are as welcoming as I, nor do they serve gods as forgiving. Be careful, but know that the followers of Okuninushi, at least, are available to aide you." She stared at him for a few moments, then sighed. Pulling the book in close against her chest, she bowed, then ran down the road following her teammates.


	13. 12 Nobles & Knaves

**Rise of the Guardians**

By Daishi Prime

- 12 – Nobles & Knaves -

Hinata was walking through Konoha, taking her time, headed home from another day at the training fields. That term, 'home', had become rather more complicated for her, but she knew that, however old she became and however unpleasant some of the memories, it would always include Hyuuga Manor, where she was headed now. She, like the other Guardians, felt a continuous, subtle pull towards the others, a need to be in their presence that was not a matter of compulsion, but comfort. Of all of them, Hinata knew she was the only one that questioned that sense, but even she was not too concerned – obvious as it was, it was also far from incapacitating, and she would have been spending most of her time with the Genin anyhow.

Hinata's habit of spending more and more time, especially her nights, at the Dojo had, however, caused some problems with the Hyuuga Clan, especially when it was revealed just how relaxed the Guardians were around each other. The Elders of the Clan, her father included, were unhappy with her as it was, and felt it seriously inappropriate for the Heir to their House to be quartered in such a plebian and open a fashion. So, to placate them, she had evolved a schedule of spending about half her evenings at her first 'home', Hyuuga Manor. It was inconvenient, and the patronizing attitude of the Elders was grating, but better than having them attempt to separate her from the others permanently.

Not that they had given up such attempts, but Hinata's division of her time, and a few other token gestures, prevented them from doing more than complain. Her father had accepted Hinata's concessions, and then politely informed the Clan that, as the arrangement was acceptable to him, it was acceptable to them. Raiden had been rather surprised at that, until Hinata explained that Hiashi was merely striking a balance between ensuring that his heir received the best training possible, and not angering the Elders too much.

The resultant arrangement, while functional, made Hinata's life somewhat more difficult than it really had to be. She had to remember each morning where she was, where she would be that night, and what she needed from one home for the other. It also left her with a subtle feeling of instability at times, as if she had no real home, but was living out a suitcase. It also left plenty of room for criticism, from the Elders, from the Guardians, and from various others who felt the need to intrude. On the other hand, it kept both her families relatively happy, and meant she did not have to choose between them, at least not yet.

She was contemplating this, as she strolled through Konoha, feeling vaguely amused at her own predicament. It was all her own fault, after all, and not nearly as bad as she pretended when one side or the other started to get on her nerves. She was feeling good from the day, for a change, having spent most of it training with Mitsumi and Yohko on trying to re-create her pre-seal techniques, while Anko and Sado-san had been training Raiden in taijutsu forms.

"Hinata-kun, drag yourself over here for a moment, will you?"

The sudden call snapped her out of her reverie, and she stopped mid-stride to look around. Sitting at a table under an awning was a tall blonde woman, a pile of books in front of her, a bottle of sake next to her. "Hai, Hokage-sama," Hinata replied, moving closer, suddenly nervous.

"Have a seat," Tsunade ordered, waiting until Hinata was seated to continue. "I've been meaning to talk to you for a couple of weeks now, to discuss your position in Konoha." Hinata twitched, almost asking what Tsunade meant, but kept herself from that breach of etiquette. "For several months now, you have been working as a sort of assistant teacher to Anko and Kakashi, working with their teams. That is valuable work, both to understand them and learn to control your new abilities. The problem is, it has never been official, merely an arrangement of convenience. I am now faced with a set of conflicting priorities, and I wanted to talk to you in hopes of resolving them."

"Hai, Hokage-sama," Hinata whispered, "Whatever you need me to do."

Tsunade waved that away, "No, not that. I wanted to talk to you, and get your thoughts on this, before making my decision." She leaned forward on her elbows, taking a sip of sake as she stared at one of the books stacked before her. "I don't think you appreciate, Hinata, just how valuable a resource you are. You did quite well at the Academy – aside from the gaki, your students are doing well. You have a rather unique combination of skills for a Chunin, the mix of medical and combat skills with the training you've received as the Hyuuga Heir gives you a flexibility that is rather valuable. Finally, you're the only person I trust, the only one with any clue what she's doing, who's taken that Seal. I think you can figure out where I'm going with this, ne?"

Hinata nodded, trying to suppress her embarrassment at the Hokage's compliments, and mostly succeeding. She was still blushing, and knew it. "You can't decide if you want me to return to the Academy, become a field Chunin, or continue working with the Guardians."

"You have to admit, having you working solely with them is a bit of overkill. They already have two very good Jounin to provide leadership and experience. On the other hand, there are plenty of field Chunin, and while I am short on teacher-qualified Chunin, I'm not so short I can't spare you for other duties. My dilemma is that I have valid arguments for and against each. What I want to know is, what is your take?"

"Ah... I am not sure, Hokage-sama," Hinata replied, "I... Could I think on it? For a day or so?"

Tsunade nodded, "Now see, that's the sort of good idea I wish that blond idiot Naruto would have once in a while. Or even just once!" She reached into the pile of books, and extracted a scroll. "Give this to Anko in the morning. It's her team's new mission, and as usual, I want you to go with them. She'll be in command, but tell her I want you to handle the diplomatic side of things. Knowing her, she'd throw the poor kid in a river and call it a 'lesson in fortitude' or something."

------------------------------

"I still don't see why this is a B-rank mission," Mitsumi muttered, walking down the dirt road with her hands behind her head, blind eyes scanning the sky. "Walk all the way across Fire Country, pick up some lord's second boy-child, drag him halfway back to Konoha, watch him get hitched, then go home. I know all of the lords have enemies and what-not, but come on, that's why he has guards, why all of them have guards. There are no indications of shinobi involvement from any direction, not even missing-nin floating about, so why the hell are we on this one? And why B-rank?"

Walking a few yards behind her, Hinata caught Raiden's arm, giving him a repressive look. _Leave her alone,_ she sent, _we're all thinking the same thing_.

He sighed, let the cluster of pebbles drop back to the roadbed, and disengaged his wrist. _Yeah, but she's the one who's been whining about it for the past day. I'm getting tired of it._

Hinata shook her head, once again falling into the roll of peace-keeper, "Kitsune, it's a B-rank mission for diplomatic reasons. The boy's father is a lord of some note, a renowned warrior and scholar, but he is not our primary concern. The son, a warrior of note himself, is being married to the Shogun's niece, a match that is bound to attract espionage and attempts to interfere by those who did not win the girl's hand. The Shogun's gift to the couple is a safe and peaceful wedding, so he has hired teams to protect both bride and groom until after the occasion. My cousin has taken a break from ANBU to lead the team guarding the bride, for instance. It is for diplomatic reasons, mostly the Shogun's direct involvement, that this mission is B-rank."

Mitsumi bent over backwards, asking, "That's sorta dangerous, Neiji-baka being so strong, quiet and breakably pretty, ne?"

"Urusai, chibi-ko," Raiden muttered back, "and keep your eyes on where you're going. Neiji will do his job in his usual fashion, and nothing else. If the girl's got wandering eyes, that's her family's problem."

Mitsumi rolled upright again, resuming her perusal of the sky, "so certain, baka? Maybe she's gorgeous, and knows just what it'll take to thaw out the lesser Hyuuga genius? Or hideously ugly, and that's what he's been looking for all along?"

Hinata looked at the back of Mitsumi's head, confused. "'Lesser' genius?"

Without turning around, Mitsumi answered, "Hey, you figured out the Seal, Hinata-chan. That means your way smarter than Neiji. Smarter'n Raiden, too, but it's not polite to rub his nose in it."

Raiden shook his head, "What's with you, 'Sune? You're whining more than usual today." Silently, he warned them, _Anko and Yohko are back, coming up behind us._

Seconds later, Anko slammed a hand down on his shoulder, another on Hinata's, leaning most of her weight on them. "You know, for a trio of kids who are supposed to be able to converse in utter silence, you three make more noise than Gai and Lee combined. We heard you coming so far away we managed to sneak around behind you!"

Raiden ducked out from under her hand, stepping sideways, simultaneously with Hinata stepping left. They almost made Anko stumble, but she just grinned at him and moved to walk between the two. "We noticed. Yohko, at least."

"Girl stands out like firecracker in a moment of silence," Mitsumi added, still staring at the sky.

"Urusai, chibi-ko," Yohko answered, "so would you, if anyone else had your eyes."

"You're all annoying," Anko muttered, causing Hinata to giggle slightly. The vocal antics of the group never ceased to amaze her, the continuous bickering that vanished the instant something serious came along. In a lot of ways, it reminded her of Sakura and Ino, and their Genin teams, but without the competitive edge that had torn Naruto's team apart, and almost done the same to Sakura and Ino. Anko continued, "You've go the map, Hina-chan. Where are we and how much longer are we gonna be walking this pathetic road?"

Hinata frowned at Anko's new nickname for her, but let it slide. The Jounin would just replace it with something more insulting, though she was usually easier on Hinata than on her Genin. Pulling the folded map out of her pack, Hinata indicated where they were on it, "We are only a few hours away from the High Road. That should take us straight to the lord's keep, after another day's travel, at this pace. If you want, we could run the whole distance in, maybe half a day? Get there late tonight?"

Anko pondered that for a moment, then shook her head. "Nah, we don't have to be there for three days, and we'll be traveling at this pace once we've got his highness-ness in tow, anyhow. Besides, it'll give me a chance to whip Raiden here into shape."

Hinata considered that for a moment. Anko was always moving fast. Given a set time to go somewhere, she preferred to run there, then lounge around and wait. Curious, Hinata almost asked what was going on, but changed her mind. Closing her eyes for a moment, one hand drifting through the air before her, she focused her chakra, up through her throat, to pool behind her eyes before flowing out through her closed eye-lids.

The technique she was now using was of her own creation, one of several results from attempting to reactivate her Byakugan. While that was still impossible, this technique came close enough that she was able to use Jyuukento its full potential again, and had some interesting side benefits. It lacked the Byakugan's all-around vantage, and the bloodline limit's ability to take in all details simultaneously, but it was proving much better for detecting chakra. Hinata had used Mitsumi's own vision technique as a basis, though she couldn't match the younger girl's range or accuracy.

Now, vision preternaturally heightened, she began scanning around the party. Her oath-siblings were somewhat difficult to work around, as she had to tune out their bonfire auras, but even Anko required some time to fade into the background. Once that was done, Hinata sent her gaze sweeping outwards, as subtly as she could. She started with the roadside, moved to the open ground separating the forest from the road, then began working her way further out, through the underbrush and into the forest proper.

"You know," Anko whispered at one point, "your eyes actually glow blue when you do that, just a little. See anything yet?"

"I think so," Hinata replied, just as softly. _Mitsumi? Are you watching our left at all?_

_I'm on point,_ Mitsumi answered immediately, _watching out front. What've you got?_

_I think I have something a little behind my left shoulder. It's too far out, though. Either a human suppressing their chakra, or a particularly large animal. Can you take a look?_

Mitsumi didn't reply, for over a minute, then sighed. Aloud, she muttered, "So much for a boring cakewalk." Mentally she answered, to both Hinata and Raiden, _there's a shinobi out there, good one. Three hundred feet, maybe three twenty, pacing us. He's doing something fancy to suppress his chakra without giving up using it._

_I'll tell Anko and Yohko,_ Hinata offered. In another whisper, she asked, "Ano, Anko-san?"

Anko's reply was equally soft, "Found her, did you? She's been pacing us for a few miles, now. Swung wide when Yohko and I moved to sneak up on you."

Hinata sighed, "It would have been polite to tell us."

Anko gave her shocked look, "And spoil the surprise? You _know_ how much the gaki loves surprises; I couldn't disappoint him, now could I?"

"I hate surprises," Raiden muttered, "And Mitsumi says it's a guy."

"She knows the difference?"

Mitsumi sent back, _Aside from plumbing?_ Hinata blushed, slightly, but managed to ignore the quip. "Yes, Anko-san, Mitsumi can tell the difference, even at this range. What should we do about him?"

"Nothing, for the moment," Anko said, "let's just walk along, enjoy the stroll, and keep an eye on him. We'll stop for lunch in a bit, take our time, see what he does. When we start up again, Mitsumi'll take whatever side he's on, keep track of him. Hinata, I'd like you to take point, keep using that sensory technique of yours – It's good, but you need to improve your range with it. Raiden, you'll take tail, Yohko'll get the side opposite Mitsumi, and I will rest my aging joints in the middle while you kids do all the work."

True to her word, they actually stopped for lunch, dropping their packs in a field to one side of the road as impromptu seats. When they first stopped, their unseen stalker did also, and for a few minutes seemed ready to wait them out. Then he faded away into the woods, moving too far for even Mistumi to track him without going in pursuit. Anko nodded, when Mitsumi reported that, "If he's smart, he won't come that close again, not alone. Odds are, he's a Konoha shinobi making sure we are who we claim to be," she tapped her forehead protector. "Maybe even from Neiji's team, sent by the pretty-boy himself to make sure we're under way. Whoever he was, so long as he doesn't come back, we don't need to worry about him."

Raiden asked, "And if he does come back?"

Anko grinned at him, "Then we have a little chat, 'bout the joys of the open road, the adventure of travel, the..."

"... Dangers of following Konoha shinobi around?"

"Right."

When they resumed traveling, Mitsumi and Hinata rotated through the team's point-position every hour or so, moving to one side or the other, as the team traveled, to ensure that the two members of the group with the best senses checked the entire arc around them. The unknown shinobi did not come back; however as the remainder of that day and the next passed, Hinata detected several more, as did Mitsumi. None came closer than the first, and each eventually faded, but their presence was unmistakable.

After the fourth unknown shinobi had approached, paralleled their course from cover, then retreated, Hinata could not decide if she was more annoyed or concerned. Unknown shinobi meant danger, whether the unknown was actually hostile or not. There was simply no way to know until the shinobi was identified, and even then it was rarely possible to determine threat. While a member of Akatsuki would, of course, be blatantly dangerous, a Stone or Grass shinobi was another matter entirely. Neither village was actively warring with Konoha, but neither were they allied with the Leaf. The unavoidable uncertainty required a heightened alertness, a level of attention and paranoia which was difficult and stressful to maintain, even though she was trained and, by now, experienced at it.

Mitsumi and Raiden were faring worse than she was, however, becoming, respectively, more restless and less patient. Their reactions were simple enough to read, through the link they shared, and Hinata found herself trying, as subtly as possible, to calm the both of them through that same link. She had done something similar before, though it had taken her a while to realize she could direct that ability. She did not think they noticed this time, at first, but at one point, while she was working on Mitsumi, she suddenly felt Raiden close himself off. When she looked up, he was staring at her, almost glaring. She quirked an eyebrow, curious as to what he would say, but he just sighed, shook his head, and dropped the block a moment later.

Yohko was more difficult to read, partly due to the lack of the link, and partly due to the girl's normally calm demeanor. It took quite a lot to shock or stress Yohko - the only time Hinata could remember seeing the girl less than composed was her debate with Raiden over releasing Hinata's Seal, although she thought some of that might have been due to her own less-than-steady perceptions, at the time. Still, after a while, it became clear to Hinata that the most intelligent of the Guardians was as disturbed by the constant surveillance as the rest of them. She was not blatant, but her eyes moved too quickly, and she kept fiddling with the tied-down lid of her scroll-pouch.

The only person in the group who displayed no concern was, of course, Anko. The Jounin merely strolled along at the center of their group, often adopting the same pose of relaxed boredom Mitsumi affected – head back, hands cupped behind her head, elbows spread wide and the occasional whistle coming from her lips. Hinata would have been insulted, except she had seen other Jounin affect various versions of the same care-free attitude in stressful situations. She supposed it was the confidence that came with demonstrably high skills.

Thus, for the remainder of that day and half the next, the five shinobi ambled along on their way to pick up the soon to be married second son.

------------------------------

The palace of Lord Dashani proved to be less impressive than Hinata had been expecting. The way the mission brief had been written, and the Anko had been acting, she had expected a large structure, dominating its town in an ostentatious display of wealth and power. Instead, she found herself staring through a simple gate into a compound much like that of her family. Three buildings filled the enclosed area, perhaps an acre in area, and only one had more than a single floor. While they were obviously better made than the town buildings, and the compound was some distance from the town, it was also obviously made of the same materials – local stone and wood. The only ostentation apparent from outside was the silver metalwork on the gate, displaying the Lord's family crest.

Occupying the fields around the house at the moment was a small tent-city, populated by guards wearing both the Dashani crest and that of the Shogun. The guards watched the four shinobi pass, but none impeded their progress. The relationship between shinobi and the more mundane troops was always uneasy, the troops possessing the mistaken impression that they were somehow superior to the shinobi. This time it was plainly obvious that the two groups of soldiers had too many other things to worry about, and were plainly too aware of the delicate situation to risk causing trouble.

"Looks respectable enough," Raiden commented, ignoring the troops to study the mansion, "little small, though."

Anko whacked him on the side of the head, "This is his country house, twit! Lord Dashani lives in the capitol, most of the year. He and his family are here because his son's been managing these lands for the last couple of years. It doesn't need to be big, and saying things like that where his vassals can hear is stupid! Stupid!"

"Nobody heard," Raiden replied, ignoring the blow and continuing to the gate. He reached it, and pulled once on the rope dangling to one side. Inside, a bell rang, loud and clear in the relative quiet. "I'll let you and Hinata handle the diplomatic side of things, Anko-sensei. I'll stick to what I'm best at – hitting things."

"You're better than that," Hinata said, but switched to their link as a small port in the gate opened, _you are quite capable of being polite and respectful. Just act like he is a Village Elder, and there will be no problems._ Aloud, she addressed the eyes staring suspiciously out at them, "Konichiwa, we are from Konoha, here to escort Dashani Ieyasu to Castle Kaikou, per contract with the Shogun."

"A moment," came the reply, followed by the sounds of large pieces of wood being moved. The gate shivered a few times, as the bars were removed, and Hinata couldn't help frowning in thought. There were quite a large number of guards surrounding the compound, so why did the inhabitants feel the need to bar the gate in the middle of the day? _Something is wrong,_ she told Raiden and Mitsumi.

_Very,_ Mitsumi agreed, continuing in a whisper, "I see five people inside, but only one male. Wasn't the boy's father supposed to be here, too?"

"That he was," Anko agreed, but further conversation was cut off by the gate opening.

A middle-aged woman pulled it open, beckoning them in, and quickly closing the gate behind them. "Please, go inside," she told them, whispering herself, "Lord Dashani is in the main building, the main room. He is waiting for you."

"Raiden, pretend you're a gentleman and give the lady a hand," Anko ordered, "Mitsumi, Yohko, play tourist. Hinata, hang with me for a bit."

Lord Dashani was, indeed, waiting in the central room of the main house, kneeling before a small family shrine, back to the door. Anko and Hinata bowed properly at the door, but when he made no move to acknowledge their presence, stepped further into the room, settling to their own knees. After a few more moments, Lord Dashani turned to face them. As he turned, he pulled the sheathed wakizashi from his belt, placing it on the floor before him. Hinata felt her eyes widen as she realized the curve was towards him, the traditional placement for a blade, in Fire Country at least, prior to a warrior's suicide. He considered the two of them briefly, then, "My apologies, shinobi, but I am afraid your mission has become impossible."

Anko gave him a curious look, but Hinata already knew, "Your son has disappeared."

"Kidnapped," Lord Dashani agreed, "In the night, someone slipped past all the guards outside, as well as those standing watch in the compound, and kidnapped him from his bed. Messengers have been dispatched, to Castle Kaikou and the capitol; however I fear the wedding will be canceled, permanently, due to this... insult."

Anko hummed for a moment, then repeated, "Last night, you say?"

"Hai," Lord Dashani replied, and Hinata realized the slow, steady voice was a product of harsh control over terrible worry. "I do not know when in the night, however. His disappearance was discovered by the maid shortly after daybreak."

"Can't have gotten too far, then," Anko mused, "probably heading north or west. We came from the east, and south is nothing but Fire Country to the ocean. North or west would bring them to the border relatively quickly."

Mentally, Hinata reached for Raiden, _Search the son's rooms, please. He's been kidnapped. Main building, upstairs, I believe._

Lord Dashani, like all powerful nobles, was a model of self control, his face showing exactly what he wanted it to. Compared to her father, however, he was an open book for Hinata. She could tell he was surprised at Anko's unspoken offer, and sought reassurance. "I... I hesitate to ask this of you, Shinobi, as I have no funds available to hire you, but..."

"There is no need to ask, Lord Dashani," Hinata reassured him, already well aware of Anko's intent, "The Shogun hired us to escort Dashani Ieyasu to his wedding, and Konoha shinobi always accomplish their mission. We will track him down, and bring him to the wedding at Castle Kaikou."

Anko asked, "Has there been a ransom demand?" When Lord Dashani shook his head, she continued, "there will be one, even if it is only a warning to call off the wedding. I would suggest, Lord Dashani, that you stall any such demands as best you can, and depart for the wedding on time. Take the troops outside with you. I will leave up to you whether or not to reveal your son's kidnapping, but we'll head straight from wherever we pick him up to Castle Kaikou."

He was on the verge of tears, now, actually bowing to them. "Thank you," he said, voice hoarse, "thank you very much. I am in your debt."

It took them a few minutes to disentangle themselves from Lord Dashani, but they managed. The five gathered again in the compound's courtyard, the three Genin watching their teachers approach expectantly. Anko waved them close, "right, Hinata's told you what's up. We're going after the kid, obviously, question is, where and how."

"Residue on the north wall," Mitsumi offered, "someone used chakra to get themselves over it." The wall in question was barely ten feet, certainly not enough to deter a shinobi, even one burdened by an unconscious captive.

"Nothing anywhere else?"

"'Fraid not."

"Then we'll start north. Get a ways out from the village and check again for any signs of passage. Yohko, Raiden, either of you find anything?"

Yohko shook her head, but Raiden spoke up, "His armor's missing, and weapons. If they're like his father's, it'll be good quality, valuable, but still not the sort of thing kidnappers usually grab."

"Like you said, valuable. Even shinobi have use for armor, every once in a while, ne? Let's move, before Lord Dashani changes his mind."

They crossed the north wall themselves, moving quick and quiet. The troops didn't even notice their passage.

------------------------------

_They're stopped to camp,_ Mitsumi sent from her perch, almost a kilometer ahead of the rest of the team, _four shinobi, one civilian._ She paused, and Hinata could sense her disgust, _the civilian's not tied up, he's sitting at the fire with them like an old friend or something._

Hinata relayed the information to Anko, who frowned, but nodded. "Sounds like them. Probably genjutsu keeping the boy all calm and well-behaved. Hina-chan, make a note, we should see if it'll work on Raiden." She grinned at him, but he just stared back, ignoring the jibe. She sighed, then quirked an eyebrow. "So, gaki, what do you think we should do?"

"The package isn't going anywhere and the shinobi aren't paying enough attention. I say we each pick one and hit them now. Pair off, take down our respective opponents, then bring the package to Castle Kaikou and be done with it. One of us to keep the package secure while the others neutralize the shinobi."

"So simple. You don't think one or two of us should try to get 'the package' out of here while the rest fight a delaying action?"

Raiden shook his head, "Made sense with Hinata's sister, but that team was all Jounin, and matched out numbers. These guys are probably Genin, with a Chunin leader. We should be able to take them out fast and hard. And even if the package panics and runs, he's a civilian, not shinobi; whoever we task can hold him in place."

_I'm with Raiden,_ Mitsumi offered, _hit 'em hard now, save the effort of shaking them off later. These guys aren't paying attention to anything!_

"Is she certain there aren't more of them," Yohko asked, when Raiden relayed Mitsumi's comments.

"Sure enough," Hinata told her, not voicing Mitsumi's insults.

"Alrighty then," Anko said, "we'll go with Raiden's plan. Raiden, take whoever's on the kid's left, Yohko take the one on the kid's right. Mitsumi and I will take the next pair, and Hinata, you'll get the kid out of the way. Good?" The three present nodded, "right, let's move!"

The four of them moved up even with Mitsumi, moving as quietly as possible through the tree-tops. They paused for a moment, once the camp was in view, and each of them marked their targets. Hinata picked out Dashani Ieyasu easily enough. He was the tallest of the five, and the only one not in shinobi gear. To her surprise, however, he was both armed and armored, wearing the traditional splint-mail of the warrior classes. Hinata was still puzzling over that when Anko gave the signal, moments later, and the five of them rolled to the attack.

It was immediately apparent that, parked around a fire or not, the shinobi below had been well aware of their presence. The four shinobi leapt away from the fire as Anko's team left the trees, separating and vanishing into the forest. Hinata let them go, focusing instead on Dashani. He was as quick as the shinobi, but did not run, merely standing, looking around in a mixture of surprise and excited confusion. Hinata landed next to him, already reaching for his shoulder.

She wasn't sure later if it was reflexes, her odd senses detecting the future, or instinct, but she aborted her grab and rolled backwards, just as he drew his sword in a flashing arc aimed at her head. She rolled a few yards away and came back to her feet, staring at him in surprise. "Lord Dashani," she said, thinking he didn't recognize them as rescuers, "We're here from your father, to rescue you."

He snarled, took a double-handed grip on his katana, and answered, "I've already been rescued!"

He came forward again, sword above his head, and Hinata slipped back, trading space for time. He was fast, faster than she expected, and she couldn't back up fast enough. The blade came down, and she twisted aside at the last moment, stepping inside the strike to slam an open palm into his chest. The steel passed behind her harmlessly, but her strike did little more than slide Dashani back a few feet, its energy absorbed by his armor.

He came on again, recovering faster than her mind or reflexes expected. She did not have time to think, only react, and she unconsciously fell into pre-Seal habits. She dropped into stance, one leg forward, the other slightly back, arms level with her shoulders, open palms towards the enemy. Chakra flowed around her arms into columns off her finger-tips, and she was already twisting through the motions before she recognized her own technique, Shugohakke Rokujyuu Yonshou. The jutsu differed from what she had originally created. Her senses were not good enough to match the Byakugan of bygone days, but the difference was more than made up for by the fact that, in place of two thin streams of chakra, the Seal allowed her to form huge pillars of energy, not as precise, but far more powerful. Dashani was already within the reach of her jutsu when she started, and caught three strikes before he was beyond it. His armor again absorbed most of the blows, unfocused as they were, but this time the combined momentum lifted him beyond the fire.

Hinata was so surprised, she felt like a spectator as her body flowed through the motions. While that jutsu had become one of her signature moves, over the years, she had yet to attempt to re-create it after the Seal. Her response to the attack had been automatic, the product of years of self-conditioning, not conscious thought, and she was gratifyingly shocked that it had worked. She took long enough that Dashani slammed into a tree, fell to the ground, and was recovering his feet before she moved.

She changed position, to keep the fire between them, sending, _Raiden, 'Sune, we have a problem. He's fighting me._

_At least one of us is having some fun,_ Mitsumi snarled back. _These clowns won't stand still and fight, they're just..._

_...distracting us_, Raiden offered, when Mitsumi hesitated. _I think they're waiting for him to do something. Or reinforcements._

Hinata frowned, as Dashani shook himself and fell back into stance, katana at the mid-guard. _Can you take out whoever is controlling him?_

_Don't think he's being controlled,_ Raiden replied, _why'd they take his armor and weapons, they're not that valuable? He came with them willingly, and no samurai will leave his arms and armor behind, even if he is abandoning his duty and family._

"You're good, girl," Dashani told her, "but not good enough. I've trained with this blade and this armor for the entirety of my life, all for just this moment, and I will not be returned to that House!"

He charged again, covering the distance almost as quickly as a shinobi could, despite his armor. Hinata let him come, forming a jutsu called Shield Hands, barriers of chakra along each palm strong enough to stop kunai. They were one of Raiden's techniques, borrowed from his memory as much as taught. She spun to meet Dashani, hands out, one deflecting the sword with a ringing blow, the other deflecting his body as he tried to bowl her over. She continued her spin, slamming a hand into the base of back of his head as he passed. His helmet absorbed most of it, but it still left him stumbling.

_We need him alive,_ she sent, _how do I disable him without killing him? The only things I can think of that will stop him, will kill him, or are too risky with that sword in his hands._

_Thunderbolt his sword?_

_I can barely manage a Thunderbolt, _she replied, throwing a 'normal' bolt at Dashani's face as he turned, trying to confuse more than injure, _let alone be accurate enough to hit his sword and not him._

Mitsumi offered, _Vanish and hit him when he's not looking?_

_Again, not that good, I can't move with Cloak of Light. I need to..._ she stopped, watching Dashani regain his balance and stance, and felt the curiosity of the others piqued. _Raiden, how strong can I make the Shield Hands?_

_Dunno,_ he answered immediately, _I've never done more than block kunai and the like._

_Here's hoping they're strong enough._

For a moment, she and Dashani watched each other. He was more cautious than before, now aware of how difficult a target she was. Hinata, for her part, was entirely aware of how much damage that razor-sharp blade would inflict, backed by his strength and untrained chakra. She was also perfectly willing to wait for him.

Hinata had known from the mission briefing, and now had ample proof, that he was highly skilled with the sword. He lacked a shinobi's chakra control and ruthlessness, but more than made up for that with directness, armor and his sword. Still, Hinata knew that, in a true fight, she would be able to kill him. Since the mission was to protect him, killing was out, which limited her options to the point where she was not certain of beating him. But, despite the circumstances forcing their equality, he was no older than she, and he lacked the most crucial advantage she had – experience. He was a noble, highly trained, highly skilled, but new to battle. Hinata had been on fields like this for four years now, and was almost perfectly calm as she gathered the chakra around her palms once more. She had the patience, the understanding of how battle flows which can only come from the field itself, an understanding Dashani lacked.

He lost patience with watching her, and began closing. It was not the wild charge, as he had initially used, but the oddly shuffling gate of a dedicated swordsman closing with a dangerous enemy, retaining his balance and power the whole way. Hinata let him close, shifting slightly to accommodate Dashani's changes of posture and position. Finally, when he had closed to within a couple of yards, he lunged, extending in a beautifully smooth attack that would have skewered her had she been slightly slower. Normally, a lunge was a fairly safe opening move, fast to make, fast to recover, and leaving many options for follow-on attacks.

Unlike her previous dodges, she did not roll out of the way; she simply swayed her torso aside, allowing the lunge to pass beneath her left arm. The Shield Hand formed over her left palm flared as she set it against the blade, feather light. Then she poured chakra into her arms, Shield Hands and muscles alike, and slammed her right hand against the opposite side of the blade, a few inches behind where her left held it. Before he even completed the lunge, all her strength hit his sword, at an angle it was not crafted to withstand.

Custom crafted, high strength, hand made, it was still merely steel, and it failed. With an unmusical twang of releasing stress, the blade snapped off four inches from the tsuba. It was still a razor-sharp edge, but it was no longer a sword.

Now Hinata spun away, catching the broken blade as she went and throwing it into the woods. Dashani, for his part, froze at full extension, shock and horror written in every line of his body, as he stared at the broken of stump he held in his hands.

Hinata came to a stop once again several yards from Dashani. "I am better than you think, Dashani-san. I am a Chunin, a Konoha shinobi. Your friends face my teammates, and will be defeated in good order. They are not coming for you." She could see the rage building in his face, an eruption of pure fury. "This fight is mine, now, Dashani-san. Without your sword, you have no weapon that can stand against me. You may prolong it, with your armor and your will, but you cannot win."

He threw his head back and screamed, a wordless shriek of rage, and charged her. He kept his grip on his broken weapon, drawing it back to strike while his other hand reached to grapple. Hinata watched him come, and stepped into his strike. Now, with the reach of his blade eliminated and his control gone, she had all the time in the world to send her chakra coursing down her arm. One hand batted aside his leading hand, followed by her left hand slamming forward. She had a brief moment of flashback, remembering a similar exchange from the other side when she fought Neiji in her first Chunin exam. Then her open hand struck, led by a pulse of chakra. His armor absorbed most of it, but Hinata was trained in Jyuuken, and enough got through to launch him backwards again, this time doubled over. She had time to aim, with this strike, and her blow had gone in precisely where she aimed it, just below his diaphragm, and Jyuuken did its work well. It would not kill him, but he would be a while getting his breath back, and breathing shallowly and painfully for some days.

Dashani hit the ground hard, tumbling violently before he fetched up against a tree. Hinata followed close behind, rifling through memories borrowed from Raiden and, especially, Mitsumi. Dashani lay on the ground where he stopped, gaping and twitching weakly as he tried to get his breath back with muscles suddenly un-responsive. Finding what she was looking for, Hinata took a moment, verifying as best she could that she had the right technique, and that its effects matched what she remembered from before she took the Guardian Seal. Then, moving more slowly than normal, she formed a series of seals, and pressed the first three fingers of her right hand to Dashani's forehead. Three small dots appeared, and he slumped, unconscious.

_Package acquired,_ Hinata sent, crouching to pick him up, _withdrawing._ He was heavy, but she would not have to carry him far. She took to the trees, heading south back the way they had come.

_Roger that,_ Raiden answered, still playing games here. _We'll play a little longer, then follow._

Seconds later, however, a whistle sounded shrill and loud. Hinata froze, pressing herself against the trunk of her current tree, and wrapped herself in the Cloak of Light. Unlike her sister, she could not move and maintain it, but for the moment she did not need to. _Raiden? Mitsumi?_

_They stopped,_ he answered, _truce call._

Something moved nearby, and Hinata returned her attention to her immediate surroundings. A moment later, Anko landed in the next tree, a body over one shoulder. She looked around for a moment, and started to leap again, when Hinata dropped the jutsu. "Anko-san, over here."

The older woman checked her leap, converting it into a sliding rotation around the branch. "Hinata! Baka! You should be more paranoid."

Hinata smiled, slightly, and shook her head. "Anko-san, no one would imitate you. That skirt is embarrassing even when I'm _not _the one wearing it." She draped Dashani across the branch, and a moment later Anko dropped her prisoner onto _her_ branch, securing him by the simple expedient of sitting on him none-too-gently. "What's going on?"

"One of the others blew a whistle, the rest backed off. I was watching the gaki, see how they'd do in a feint-battle like this one. Now we're just waiting for the others to gather. Relax and stay sharp. Truces are nice in theory, but..."

"... Trust is the path of the damned," Hinata finished, an old shinobi saying that was more popular in other hidden villages than in Konoha, but well known even there. Anko smiled and nodded.

It took a few minutes, but eventually the other six shinobi gathered, wary but calm. The three foreign shinobi clustered to one side, while Raiden, Mitsumi and Yohko settled around Hinata. They simply stared at her for a minute, then one of the foreigners, stepped forward, his forehead protector labeling him a Grass shinobi.

"Our mission is concluded, shinobi. It was concluded this afternoon when we left Dashani lands. If you'll leave us our comrade, we'll be on our way, and leave the boy to you. No one else gets hurt, no one gets dead, and we both come out of this with successful missions. What do you say, Jounin?"

Anko gave them a surprised look, then grinned maniacally and slapped the shinobi she was still sitting on, "this boy? Why would I give him up, hmm? I caught him fair and square, and mother didn't raise me to throw my catches back. Oh, he's a little stringy, but I can fatten him up, I think, train him right proper."

Hinata blushed at Anko's insinuations, but then, so did the Grass Chunin. A moment later, he got enough control to say, "We were hired to get Dashani Ieyasu out of Dashani lands last night. We did that yesterday afternoon, so our mission was officially complete..."

"Hence your unwillingness to fight tonight," Raiden interrupted.

The Chunin glared at him briefly, but answered, "Correct. So, our mission is complete, and said nothing of preventing his _return _to Dashani lands. We have no reason to interfere in you returning him, no reason, mission-wise, to fight you. But we will not abandon our comrade."

Raiden and Mistumi grimaced, and Hinata could feel the disgust flowing from both of them as the girl muttered, "Letter but not the spirit, ne?"

The Grass spokesman gave her a patronizing look, "Kid, you may be real good at following shinobi around like a little lost puppy, but you're young. Risking your neck against a blatantly superior foe for no return is stupid. Especially since the rest of us don't have that bad-ass reputation you Konoha shinobi so delight in."

"We'll give you your comrade," Anko agreed, cutting of Mitsumi's retort, "but you kids are leaving first." She rolled to her feet on the branch, then hefted the unconscious body she had been sitting on and tossed it to the speaker. "Run, now, and if I catch even the slightest whisper of one of you following, I'll let the gaki have you. They could do with some blooding."

The Grass shinobi nodded, then vanished, reappearing a moment later several yards to the north, leaping from branch to branch on his way north. His two standing comrades followed immediately, if more cautiously, keeping an eye on the Konoha shinobi.

While Anko and Mitsumi kept watch to be sure the Grass shinobi left, Yohko took a moment to inspect the seal Hinata had used. She poked at it, studying the markings and the pattern of chakra, then looked up at her erstwhile sensei. "He'll be under for another half hour or so. That's cool, Hinata-sama, when did you learn this binding after taking the Seal?"

"I didn't," Hinata whispered, "I borrowed Raiden's and Mitsumi's memories of you using the binding, and imitated that."

Yohko whistled, obviously impressed. "Like I said, cool. I knew you guys could trade techniques, but I didn't think you could learn... hey, does it work like the Sharingan? You see the technique and..." she trailed off suggestively.

Hinata shook her head quickly, "no, no, Yohko, but Mitsumi 'saw' how you formed the chakra, and it really is a simple binding. The problem with that technique has always been the difficulty in getting the target to stand still long enough, not complexity."

Yohko gave her a sour look, "You're saying I'm simple?"

"Ah... Yohko, I... I did not..."

Yohko giggled, shaking a finger at her sensei, "Gotcha, sensei. I know what you meant. It's still impressive, that you figured out how to adapt it just from Mitsumi's memory of watching me use it."

"That's one of the reasons she's a Chunin, and you aren't," Anko said, turning from watching the fleeing Grass shinobi, finally. She took Dashani from Yohko, quickly and expertly bound his wrists and ankles, then slung him over one shoulder. "She's got the skill and experience to know how things work, even when they don't. Let's get moving, I think Lord Dashani would like to have a discussion with his son before the wedding."

More concerned by the possibility of pursuit by the Grass shinobi than by the potential for future ambush, Anko set Mitsumi to watching their back trail. Hinata took point without having to be asked, while Raiden and Yohko took the flanks, with Anko and Dashani safely tucked in the middle. In that formation, the five of them traveled through the rest of the day and into the night, heading East of South to intercept one of Fire Country's main roads, which would take them in time to Castle Kaikou.

Dashani woke soon after they began heading back, announcing his awakening with a painful groan followed momentarily by vomiting. Anko caught it in time to put him down, avoiding the mess herself, then doused him with water, and picked him up again to resume their traveling. When he started cursing and yelling at them, she improvised a gag, and threatened to have Yohko place the Peaceful Repose binding on him again.

Shortly after Dashani rejoined the waking world, Raiden and Mitsumi began carrying on a silent conversation. Hinata was used to it, and did the same often enough, but when she was this close to them, it created the strangest sensation in the back of her mind, an odd almost-sound that was unlike the rumble of a distant crowd, yet not the formless buzz of a living forest. Eventually, when it carried on longer than she was used to, she asked, _If I may, what are you two talking about?_

There was a moment of stillness, then Raiden answered, _We were talking about those Grass shinobi. We weren't very impressed by them._

That actually surprised her, slightly. _Why?_

_They didn't fight,_ Mitsumi replied, _they just abandoned Dashani, abandoned their mission, when stronger ninja appeared. _

_They were pure mercenaries, _Raiden added, _they didn't care about anything but keeping themselves whole._

Hinata considered that, remembering her own Genin days, and how her teammates had looked at the world. She was still confused, until she expanded her consideration to Naruto's, Shikamaru's & Neiji's Genin teams, and how those teams looked at the world. When she did that, her siblings' problem with the Grass shinobi became clear. _In the end,_ she told the two, _we are nothing more than mercenaries, as well. I have heard Neiji speak of all shinobi as being like whores._ She felt their shock, _Think on it. We sell our bodies, our skills. In practical terms, the difference between us and a whore is that we do not sell ourselves for sex,_ she blushed, glad for once to be leading where no one could see, and added, _though we can use sex as one tool. A shinobi must be prepared to use any necessary tool to accomplish her mission, and in Konoha, we are trained to see through the spirit of the mission, as you put it Raiden. But in the end, we are still selling ourselves, and that is all we have to sell. If we lose our bodies, our lives, we have nothing left to sell, but no more concerns. Yet, death is only one of the fates shinobi face. Just as many are seriously injured. Look at Kakashi-san, or the scars Iruka, Kurenai-san, Asuma-san and every other Jounin carries. Look at Anko-san's curse seal. Crippling injuries eliminate just as many shinobi as death, but leaves the shinobi alive with no income._

She paused for a few moments, allowing them to contemplate and absorb that lesson. While they did, she smiled to herself, amused that she was teaching them using an argument between Neiji and Naruto. She had not been supposed to hear that conversation, but standing quietly outside doors and listening still came naturally to her.

Finally, she continued, _The Grass Chunin showed excellent judgment. He recognized a superior force, recognized that the risks of fighting us outweighed any potential profit from getting Dashani away from us, and secured the release of the one member of his team who had been captured. Their initial opening moves were also well planned. They separated us, and attempted to break contact with enough of you that they could gang up against one of you at a time. I have no doubt that, had Dashani managed to injure or kill me, the fight would have continued. But once he was down, they were outnumbered and out-classed, and the Chunin recognized it, accepted it, and acted to prevent needless weakening of his own village's forces. Acknowledging that you cannot win a battle and retreating to fight again another day is no disgrace. And while the Hokage and Konoha's traditions encourage us to go beyond the norm in all things, completing the letter of the mission is all that is required of any shinobi._

_Had he fought on, that Chunin would have been injured, possibly killed. His teammates would have as well, and that could quite easily have been the end of their lives as shinobi, the end of their lives, period, if they were especially unfortunate. Yet, because he was satisfied with fulfilling the letter of the mission, he and his team walk away with nothing more than bruises, physical and emotional, but still just bruises. Remember his face, Raiden-kun, and do not be surprised when you see him again._

She could feel him considering that, Mistumi as well, the two presences in her mind roiling as the worked through what she had said. Raiden offered, _Victory isn't everything, ne?_

_Baka,_ Mitsumi came back before Hinata could, _she didn't say that. It's just a matter of defining what victory is._

Hinata asked, _Raiden, I know you will go to any length to preserve Konoha, but few missions are that critical. Damaging a hidden village at all is a difficult and dangerous proposition, no matter how numerous or skilled its shinobi. So, how far will you go to accomplish missions that are _not_ that critical? Will you risk a crippling injury that will prevent you from fulfilling the Guardian's Oath, just to accomplish some transitory goal for an employer?_

_Something to think about,_ he agreed, _definitely something to think about._

Hinata smiled again to herself, and let the subject drop, turning her attention forward again. For all his intelligence and drive, it was good to know that Raiden still had some blind-spots, still had things to learn. Even better, it was good to know that she could still teach _them_ a thing or two.

Hinata was quite pleased with herself, until Mitsumi got the last word in. _Raiden'll remember that guy, all right. He always does remember the cute ones._

------------------------------

Dashani Ieyasu was delivered alive and uninjured to Castle Kaikou the day before his wedding. There, he spent several hours closeted with his father, and while he was not visibly marked when he stood beside his bride to take his vows, the only part of him not covered by ceremonial robes, armor, medallions and the like was his face, which was itself covered in makeup. Fulfilling their contract, Anko and her team continued to guard him, against both outside interference and further attempts at flight, until the ceremony was complete and the Shogun's personal guard escorted the 'happy' couple on their way, with Neiji's team to provide real protection.

Mission complete, the team returned to Konoha. Lord Dashani had been rather generous towards them, mostly for keeping his son's attempted flight secret. All five of them now had life-time passes identifying them as personal allies of the Dashani family. They may have been simple pieces of paper stained with ink, but the connection they represented, and the favors they could potentially call in, were more than mere reward.

For a change, on their arrival in Konoha, none of them were bound for the hospital. Instead, all five of them presented themselves at the Hokage's office, where Anko, leaning half out of a window to enjoy the breeze, provided their mission report. Tsunade was suitably impressed, concerned over the implications of Dashani Ieyasu's ability to arrange of foreign shinobi's services so quietly, and wary of the Dashani passes. Nothing in the meeting was out of the ordinary, not even Tsunade's ordering them to take the next day off.

Hinata was not surprised, however, when the Hokage signaled her to remain as the others filed out. She remained, mentally arranging to meet up with the others at the Dojo, standing to one side of Tsunade's desk. Once they were all out, the Hokage leaned back in her chair, and considered Hinata.

"Well, girl, that sounds like it was a profitable mission, in more ways than one. Figured out a few new tricks, did you?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama," Hinata agreed, letting the older woman's sarcastic tone roll over her. Even she was getting used to Tsunade's ways, it seemed.

"Well, have you given any thought to what we discussed before you left?"

Hinata shifted slightly. In truth, she had not. The mission itself, as well as keeping the peace between Mitsumi and Raiden, had been distracting. _And you didn't want to think about it,_ her conscience reminded her. "H... hai, Hokage-sama," she replied, telling only a slight lie. She had thought about it, just before she spoke. Rapidly now, she ran through the conversation, and tried to make a decision. "I think... that I should stay with the Guardians, Hokage-sama. I am still learning from them, and still teaching them." Briefly, she related the adaptation of Yohko's Peaceful Repose jutsu, and her conversation with Raiden and Mitsumi immediately after the fight. "I think I should stay where I am, perhaps shifting between the Anko's and Kakashi's teams as needed? I am still learning, Hokage-sama, and as little as you know of how our Seals work, you know more than anyone else."

Tsunade snorted. "Shikamaru was asking about you. He's got a mission coming up, thinks that Seal or not, you'd be a perfect fit. Do you really think he can't figure out how to use your abilities?"

"No, Hokage-sama," Hinata replied, "I think he can, but others..."

"What if I put you in charge of a team?"

Hinata could feel the blood rushing away from her face. "No, Hokage-sama. I... I am not ready to lead a team. I am still too uncertain in myself, and you know how having an uncertain leader..."

Tsunade waved distractedly, cutting her off. "Fine, fine, Hinata. You want to stay where you are. That wouldn't have anything to do with this link you share with Raiden and Mitsumi, would it?"

Hinata nodded, slowly. "I cannot help but feel a pull towards them, Hokage-sama. There are times when being distant from them becomes actively uncomfortable, but not to the point of limiting my capabilities. If you need me to run missions with other teams I will, but it would be best for all of us if I remain with them."

Tsunade nodded along with her, "All right then, Hinata. I'll make it official – except for special single-shot missions, you are hereby assigned to Genin Teams Nine and Ten until they are formally dissolved. Actually, that will be advantageous in another way that became clear while you were out of town. I'll be pulling Anko and Kakashi for occasional missions, which will leave you in charge of their team, or teams, while they're out, but with one Chunin and a handful of rookie Genin, they won't be big missions. Keep that in mind, and let Anko know. Also, go ahead and let the rest know, I got a hawk from Kakashi. He and his team will be back tomorrow from their latest mission. I'll let them tell you about their adventures then."

"Hai, Hokage-sama," Hinata agreed, taking the opportunity to slip out of the office. She smiled, as she walked down the hall towards the stairs and outside. She would remain with the Guardians, and now that it was an official team assignment, even her family would have to leave it be. They would probably see it as an honor, someone her age being considered an acceptable substitute leader for either the famous Copy-nin, or the most infamous of the Mitarashi family. For some reason, she found herself un-disturbed by the idea of leading either team of Guardians in the absence of their Jounin, unlike the idea of leading a force of more normal shinobi.

Raiden and Mitsumi were waiting at the bottom of the stairs from Hokage tower. Without a word, as Hinata came down the steps, they pushed away from where they had been leaning, and fell into step alongside her. Without a word, the three of them headed home to the Dojo.

------------------------------

1) Shugohakke Rokujyuu Yonshou – Guardian of Eight Divination Seals: Sixty-four Strikes. A technique Hinata developed as a Genin whereby she combines Byakugan's perceptions with thread-thin, steel-hard lengths of chakra from her finger-tips. In the original form (pre-Seal), the combination allowed her to block any attack with a line of chakra, repeatedly striking larger targets, creating a hemisphere around herself which no attack could get through.

2) Peaceful Repose Binding – this is the seal used by Yohko to bind Urashima in chapter 2 (Tricks & Traps). It is derived from a medical seal, hence the doubt as to how well a Genin would know it and Hinata's pre-existing knowledge of it. It was originally developed to keep injured shinobi sedated during field treatment. Yohko adapted it after taking the Guardian Seal, refining it. It was named for the fact that those under the binding have almost no vital signs, appearing dead to the untrained observer.

------------------------------

Benjamin Smoker: Thank you for the compliment, all three of them actually. Glad you like the story, glad you liked the chapter, and knowing there's another person to add to the list of those who call me 'weird' just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. I've a question, however – what part (or parts!) of the story makes it 'weird', to you?


	14. 13 Risks & Opportunities

**Rise of the Guardians**

By Daishi Prime

- 13 – Risks & Opportunities -

"Ma, it's a little early, don't you think?" Kakashi was laying along a windowsill, legs stretched up the frame, one arm holding up his head, the other holding his trade-mark novel so as to hide his face. It muffled his voice, too, but everyone else present had excellent hearing.

Sakura snorted derisively, "this from the Jounin who offered up a trio of rookie Genin, what, four months after they graduated the Academy?"

Kakashi shrugged, without loosing balance or book, "Thought it would be a good experience for you. I was right, too, you all learned a lot during that test."

"And Saskue picked up his curse seal, Naruto's seal was blocked, and all three of us were nearly killed by Orochimaru and his Sound ninja. Kakashi no baka."

"Hmmm, I remember that exam," Anko muttered, "all of us do, actually. That's when the gaki picked up their obsession, ne?"

Tsunade added, "And Sarutobi-sensei died battling Orochimaru."

"Bad times all around," Anko agreed, then shook herself all over, "But! Nothing to do with this next exam. I'm worried that Akatsuki seem to have heard about the gaki and their seal, but not really. They'll hold off an Akatsuki pair long enough for us to reach them."

"Akatsuki won't be a problem," Tsunade commented, "they've done nothing but rebuild their strength since their failed attempts on Naruto and Gaara. They aren't ready to try something against the gathered strength of several villages, not like that. Too many other shinobi would assist us in killing them, to make it worth their while to interfere with an exam. No, I don't expect anything out of Akatsuki, though that may change in a couple of years."

Sakura looked at her mentor, and raised an eyebrow. "So, you're going to let them do this? With those kids? That is very risky, Tsunade-sama."

"It's just a test, Sakura-chan," Anko reassured, "It's not like we actually expect them to make it all the way through, but the Chunin exams are tough, demanding trials. They'll face real opponents, trained shinobi instead of the missing-nin they've mostly fought. It'll be good for them. Humbling, even if they win."

Kakashi chuckled, "Mah, they won't pass the written test. They haven't shown much of a spying bent."

"Don't be so sure," Anko answered, grinning at him, "I'll bet you your books they wind up facing off against each other in the finals."

Kakashi actually looked around said book at that, raising his eyebrow. It was only for a moment, before he disappeared behind the paper again, but he answered, "Mah, I'm not a betting man, Anko, you know that. Besides, I'd never take a lady's money. Yours, sure, but Sakura would want in on the bet, too. If you think your team can handle it, go ahead."

Sakura's eyes widened and she threw a scroll at her former teacher. "Urusai! I'd never bet on a Shinobi exam!"

"You bet on Sasuke's."

"That was different! It was a sure thing, and... and Naruto lost!"

"Hmmm? Sure about that are you? What did he bet again? Oh, yes, home-made ramen for his Sakura-chan."

Sakura blushed, snarling, "I'm not his 'Sakura-chan', Kakashi-san, and if you call me that again you'll have to replace your other eye!"

Tsunade limited herself to grinning at her apprentice's response, but Anko cackled, almost falling out of her window. "Speaking of medical procedures," Tsunade said, cutting of Anko's sharp comment, "how are the kids' physicals coming?"

Sakura stopped glaring at her former teacher, and turned her attention to the sheaf of notes in her lap. She flipped through the pile, looking for the relevant sheet, "They're all going this morning. Full physicals, top-to-bottom, full blood tests, all senses, chakra systems, everything. Should take the doctors and medic-nins Shizune selected the rest of the day to do most of the tests, though some of the blood work will take a few days to process. We should have complete reports on all seven of them in a week. Those should make for interesting reading, I think."

Kakashi pressed, "So you're going to let them in the Chunin Exam, Hokage?"

Tsunade nodded, slowly, a serious expression on her face as she stared out the window. "I believe so, yes. It will, as you said, be a good learning experience for them, and it will be a better way to examine their capabilities under stress. Their performance on missions has been good, so far, but the exams are an entirely different sort of pressure. Unless their physicals present a compelling reason to exclude them, I'll let them enter. Except Hinata, of course. It will be interesting to see how they perform without her providing a security blanket, ne?"

------------------------------

_Remind me why we're putting up with this crap again?_ Mitsumi sent the thought out as the nurse came back into the exam room, glaring at her. She stopped for a second, blinking at the younger kunoichi uncomfortably, but Mitsumi didn't stop glaring. Hospitals did that to her.

_Because the Hokage ordered it,_ Hinata answered.

_And it's part of the price of getting Rumiko the medical training she needs,_ Raiden added.

_Like hell it is. Should've told the Hokage to take a flying leap. Rumiko'll learn the same way we do, by doing._

The nurse finally got over her discomfort, stepping briskly over to the exam table, and the rolling tray to one side of it. "Well, now that that's out of the way," she had just left to drop a stack of blood samples off. Mitsumi almost made a comment about her being a vampire, except vampires are at least honest about their intent to torture, "I'd like to start with your eyes."

"I'm blind," Mitsumi reminded her, managing not to snarl. _Nobody appreciates the Herculean effort I put into not saying the first thing that pops into my head when someone says something stupid,_ Mitsumi muttered, more to herself but still sharing. She needed that sense of contact with the others.

_We appreciate it,_ Raiden replied, _believe me, we appreciate it all the time._

"You do a remarkably good job of navigating without a cane, for someone who can't see. Good glare, too. Now, stay still, try not to blink, and let me see how your eyes are doing." She settled onto a wheeled stool, rolled closer, and held up a microscope in front of Mitsumi's face.

Mitsumi glared a moment longer, and as soon as the microscope was reached eye level, closed her eyes. "I'm blind, aho. The eyes don't work, end of discussion." She hated talking about her eyes, with anyone. Everyone always got all sympathetic and understanding, pitying the poor little blind girl who needs allowances made for her.

The nurse blinked, then gave Mitsumi a chiding look, "if you're blind..."

"I'm a shinobi, a good one," Mitsumi cut her off. _Really, it's always the same bloody question; you'd think some of these people would engage their brains once in a while._ "There are other senses than vision, and you civilians make a ridiculous amount of noise."

_But the same person never asks twice,_ Hinata was trying to be reassuring, but it did nothing to help.

"What makes you think I'm a civilian?"

Mitsumi tried not to laugh in her face, but only partially succeeded. "My grandmother has more chakra than you, with better control, and she never saw a kunai 'til Juubei and I started bringing them home. You're a civilian. And I'm not letting you poke and prod at my eyes. They don't work."

_You're being obstinate, chibi-ko,_ Raiden told her, and Mitsumi snarled back wordlessly.

The nurse sighed, and in an exceedingly patient voice explained, "Miss Mitarashi, I am fully aware that you cannot see. However, your eyes still move, they are still a part of you. I need to check to make sure that they are not damaging anything else, and to verify what functionality there is."

"You're not..."

_Mitsumi, please,_ Hinata asked, let her check your eyes. _She will not judge you, merely examine._

Mitsumi hesitated, then sighed, mentally and physically. _I hate hospitals._ Point made, she opened her eyes, resuming her glare. "Get on with it."

Things progressed, slowly, from there. Test after test, poking and prodding and question after question. The nurse was quite patient, quite tolerant, and quite obvious about being both. Mitsumi knew she was snarling and snapping, but she couldn't help it. It was bad enough having Hinata and Raiden in her head, they were family. But the tests and questions of the nurse were far more personal than anything her sibs ever asked, and Mitsumi did not even know the other woman's name.

As usual, it was her eyes that caused the most problems. Mitsumi had been using her chakra-detection jutsu continuously since she realized she could, to the point where now she had to concentrate in order to _not_ use it. Which meant that, each time the woman attempted to test her vision, Mitsumi could see roughly what she was doing, and extrapolate from the woman's hand where the tool she was supposed to be looking at was. Which lead to arguments from the nurse over whether or not she was really blind.

Mitsumi finally got both a break and a source to vent almost an hour after the nurse began, when another nurse entered the examination room, carrying another clipboard. Mitsumi did not notice her until she entered the room, she was too busy watching the first nurse like a hawk, waiting for the next attempt to trick her. The opening of the door caught Mitsumi's attention, and she switched her mistrust to the newcomer. Something was off about her, something Mitsumi did not recognize at first.

"Natsuki," the second nurse said, "the head nurse has asked for your assistance, one of the patients on your ward..."

She trailed off, but the first nurse, Mitsumi assumed it was Natsuki as she had not bothered remembering the woman's name, nodded. "I'll be down there in a bit, I have a few more tests to administer."

"I'll take them," the second nurse offered, "it sounded rather urgent."

Natsuki sighed, but nodded, standing up off the stool. She handed the new nurse her clipboard, and paused in passing to whisper, "careful with her, she's got a nasty temper," and then she was gone, vanishing out the door.

Mitsumi, ignoring the exchange, glared at the newcomer. The new nurse stepped over and settled onto the stool herself, taking a minute to flip through the sheets of notes on prior tests. When she wasn't moving, the strangeness about the nurse became clearer, easier to see. Something had twisted and suppressed her chakra, creating an abnormal flow.

"So," she said after a minute, looking up, "shall we resume with..."

"You telling me who you really are," Mitsumi cut her off. _Guys, think I've got an impostor here._ Hinata and Raiden both flared with concern at that. _Oh, calm down, nothing violent yet, but be careful._ She gave them a brief description of the woman's odd chakra flow, while the woman was getting over her no-doubt feigned surprise.

Looking shocked, the nurse asked, "What are you talking about? I'm..."

"Using a really simple variation of Henge no Jutsu. Who are you, and why are you risking pissing off the seven of us just to get a look at my incomplete physical?"

_Careful, Mitsumi,_ Hinata cautioned. _If she's a shinobi, she'll have her story worked out to the last detail._

Raiden was more direct. _Do you think you can break her henge? Or her, if she's actually dangerous? _Mitsumi just chuckled back. Neither of them would like what she was planning, but it would be fun. Raiden usually got to have all the fun.

The nurse's face hardened. "Now listen here, little girl, and you listen well. I am not someone you can speak to in such insulting tones. I've saved more lives than you can imagine, and I know more about..."

Mitsumi did not bother cutting her off with words, this time. Instead, she snapped up her right arm, the soft blue glow of a half-formed bolt illuminating her cupped hand from within. "You've got ten seconds before I put this through your head, spy. Drop the henge or die. Nine... Eight..."

The nurse snarled, and vanished in a puff of smoke. Mitsumi could still see her, the chakra signature changed as she watched, shifting into a new form that was more normal. She did not recognize the pattern, immediately, but it retained a strange twisted seal, and she recognized that. There were only two people in Konoha with that seal, and she was very familiar with her team's Jounin. "Uchiha-teme," she snarled, almost letting the bolt fly.

"That's Uchiha-san," he replied coldly, rising to his feet, "and you are far too quick to violence for your own good, Genin. How did you know?"

Mitsumi just glared at him. "Figure it out, Uchiha-teme. What the hell do you think you're doing in here, with me half-naked in this stupid gown?" Then she grinned, and leaned forward. "It's the half-naked part, right? Hentai, I'm not even close to legal. Does Haruno-san know you're into little..."

"Silence," he ordered, chakra flaring ever so slightly. She couldn't tell if it was anger or embarrassment, but she just laughed, enjoying scoring on the traitor. "I know you have some sort of chakra detection jutsu, but such a technique cannot match the detailed perception of a blood-line limit, the detail required to see through a henge. I know I got the nurse's name correct, the pattern of behavior, all of it. What gave me away?"

She smiled, dissipating the bolt to rest her weight on her hands, kicking her feet beneath the table. "Blood-line limits, tche. Your family's technique is slick, and you're right, I can't copy someone else's jutsus, but then, I've never had to _steal _them, I'm actually _skilled _enough to create my own," her smile turned vicious.

She saw the hand twitch, and knew she got him again. He so wanted to hit her for that, and an angry opponent was an easy opponent. _Hey Raiden, would you be pissed if I killed the traitor? He's standing right in front of me quivering like a harp-string, after all. Cloak of Light'll do to get behind him, couple of bolts to the back of the head..._ She let the thought trail off.

There was a moment of shocked silence from her partners, though for different reasons. Raiden recovered first, _I'm on my way. Don't start anything, 'Sune, he's dangerous._

_Oh, calm down, Onii-chan. I'm not actually going to kill him here. Might hurt someone else._

Hinata chimed in,_ relax, Raiden. Sasuke-san will not fight anyone here._

_He shouldn't be here at all,_ Raiden countered.

Hinata sighed mentally, _Like many, he is curious about what we can do, and we have never been very forthcoming with anyone other than the Hokage and our instructors. Sasuke is not the type to sit quietly and wait for others to answer questions, he will seek the answers himself. And he has reason to distrust seals, and anything even remotely related to Orochimaru. Stay where you are, Raiden._

_He picked the wrong Guardian to try this on,_ Mitsumi commented.

Uchiha finally regained enough self control to speak without attacking, "You need to learn to respect your superiors, Genin. I asked you a question, you will answer it, directly and truthfully."

"Nope," Mitsumi grinned, "not until you answer mine."

"I'm not answerable to Genin."

"And I'm not answerable to you. See, I may be a Genin, but I'm not on your team, and you're a 'former' traitor of a Chunin. So, since you're apparently a little slow on the uptake, I'll repeat: why're you so eager to get a look at our physicals? Gonna run home to the snake and tell him what you know?"

Sasuke stared at her for a moment, she could almost feel his shock, "Orochimaru is dead. Naruto killed him."

She chuckled, shaking her head, "Simpleton. Orochimaru's immortal. He won't die until Death comes for him itself." She shifted her voice into a wheedling tone, "you answer me and I'll answer you, Uchiha-teme."

He glared at her for a few moments, strongly enough that she could actually feel it. Then she noticed the chakra flowing into his eyes, and allowed her own blind gaze to lock with his. The smile she gave him was pure viciousness. "Go for it, teme," she whispered. "Open up those pretty red eyes of yours, and let me burn them right out of your empty skull." She started gathering her own chakra about her, preparing Yohko's Firecracker jutsu, a brilliant flare of chakra and light designed to temporarily blind an opponent. Its effects on enhanced vision, especially chakra-sensitive vision, were far worse. "Ask Kakashi-sensei about us, teme. He can't watch us play, and he's only got one eye to worry about. You've got two, and I'd love to see what it takes to burn those out."

The chakra flow to his eyes stopped, and receded. "You're actually ready to fight me," he commented, surprise evident, "you think you can actually take me."

Mitsumi laughed, "I can take you easily, Uchiha-teme. Even if I couldn't, Yohko's in the next room, Rumiko's beyond her, Hinata's the other way, and Raiden, Juubei and Kuma are across the hall. Seven Guardians versus one traitor. You wouldn't last long enough for anyone to notice."

Uchiha snorted derisively, "don't believe your own reputation, kid. You kids may be good, but a couple of over-rated Stone shinobi don't begin to compare to me."

"And your greatest weapons are useless against us. Your oh-so-useful Sharingan actually becomes a major handicap."

"I wouldn't need it, girl. How'd you see through my henge?"

She smiled at his blatant attempt to get an answer. "I told you, Uchiha-teme, I'm not answering yours until you answer mine."

"I was curious as to what has Sakura so interested that she'd blow off two of our class' monthly dinners. The fact that she wouldn't talk about it just made me more curious, and that hearing a couple of months ago didn't help. All it did was show us a bunch of crazy Genin with delusions of grandeur, and we decided to find out more." He held up the clipboard, "this is part of that more. Now, answer my question."

"Baka," she muttered "if you want to know what we can do, all you have to do is ask us to dance, we'll be happy to kick your ass. I didn't see through your henge, teme, I _saw_ the henge. Like a massive flag saying, 'hey, look at me, I'm not who I'm pretending to be!' Shoulda painted yourself yellow and danced naked on the monument, it would've been less obvious."

"Henge's are..."

Mitsumi cut him off, giving him a sing-song repetition of one of Hinata's Academy lectures, "A method of disguise whereby the ninja's chakra is twisted about them, altering their physical appearance, to both visual and tactile senses." She snorted, "Yeah, 'a ninja's chakra is _twisted_ about them,' all right. Oh, and until you get rid of that hicky on your neck, you'll stand out like a live oak in a field of dead grass."

One of his hands snapped up to cover where Orochimaru's seal rested, dormant and invisible now, and Mitsumi knew she'd shocked him with that one. _Idiot didn't realize I could see his curse-seal,_ she told the others.

"I think it's time for you to leave, Uchiha." It took Mitsumi a moment to realize Raiden had said that aloud. She blinked reflexively, pulling her focus back from the Uchiha to find Raiden standing just inside the door to the exam room. Watching her brother's chakra swirling around to menace the infamous Chunin was impressive. She could not recall seeing him this agitated since Rumiko took her Seal. "These are private exams, involving our private records. And the fact that you are in here with _my sister _is threatening on far too many levels. Dangerous. Bad things happen when two shinobi feel threatened in small spaces, Uchiha. Bad things for everyone."

Mitsumi didn't even notice grabbing the clipboard, she just threw it. "Get out! Get out, Raiden! Kuso, I'm not dressed, you pervert!" Rage and embarrassment warred within her, and she let them.

Raiden swung clear of the clipboard, allowing it to strike the wall and fall to the ground. He never took his eyes off the Uchiha, but she felt his mental touch, his surprise at her reaction. "Relax, Mitsumi," he said aloud, "I'm just here to escort the Uchiha out."

"I don't care!" She really didn't. Sasuke wasn't even registering anymore, she just wanted Raiden out. "Get out! Both of you, now!" As she pulled back on the bed, trying to get the hospital gown to go lower without falling off, she sent, _Hinata! Help! He won't leave!_

Sasuke glared at Raiden, then settled back on the stool. "I haven't gotten all the answers I want, yet. I'll leave when..."

"Sasuke-san," Hinata's voice was soft, but carried easily over the Uchiha's arrogant voice, "This is a lady's hospital room at the moment. Not a place for an uninjured male shinobi. I suggest you take up these questions some other time and place."

He raised an eyebrow at her, "See, that's one of the things that bothers us the most, Hinata. When did you suddenly get so pushy? Don't get me wrong, you needed the confidence, but an overnight change?"

"Who cares!" Mitsumi knew her voice was shrilling too high, but could not help it, "everyone who wasn't born a girl, get the Hell out! _Now_!"

The other three looked at her, and she could feel her sibling's surprise. Then Sasuke snorted, rose smoothly from the stool, and strolled out the door, brushing past Raiden. He paused in the door, for a moment, "I got enough, I guess. Word of warning, gaki. Don't try threatening me again. You'll find I'm better equipped to deal with your pathetic abilities than you realize." Then he was gone, chakra signature striding down the hallway towards the hospital's entrance.

Raidenseemed to want to ask her what was wrong, but Hinata rested a hand on his shoulder. They had a private exchange for a moment, then Raiden left. Mitsumi could still feel his concern, though, and her rage faded away, leaving the embarrassment free reign. Hinata closed the door, then moved closer and sat beside her on the bed. "Daijobou?"

_I'm fine,_ Mitsumi told her, drawing her legs up under the gown and wrapping her arms around them.

"What happened?"

_I panicked,_ Mitsumi answered sullenly. _Couldn't stand the thought of him in here and me wearing this ridiculous gown._

Hinata finally acquiesced to keeping the conversation quiet. _When did you get shy? I've seen you change for a shower without bothering to close your door, and that's not even considering your usual outfit._

_That's different, it was at home. Ever notice how he never looks 'up' at the Dojo?_

Hinata shook her head, obviously amused at the conflicting standards. _Are you going to be all right? No more throwing things?_

"I'm fine," Mitsumi repeated, finally getting herself calmed down, Hinata's steadying glow working its usual magic. Mentally, to both Hinata and Raiden, she asked, _why'd ya have to go and scare him off?_ Mitsumi pouted, focusing on Sasuke and now feeling disappointed that her entertainment had left. _You're always taking my toys away,_ she added mentally, _meanie._ She could feel Raiden's unvoiced chastisement through the link. Feeling better than she had before the Uchiha's arrival, she stuck her tongue out, knowing he'd know, even with a couple walls in the way. Hinata chuckled, and left to return to her own exam.

_He's dangerous, Mitsumi. This isn't picking on some random Genin, he's the Uchiha. Much as we may loathe the traitorous bastard, he's still skilled, powerful, and dangerous. _Raiden obviously felt like lecturing.

_So am I,_ Mitsumi shot back.

_You'd lose. You'd have to, if we're going to stay in Konoha. You know that, Mitsumi._

_Still using my real name,_ she realized, keeping the thought very private, _gah, not another serious lecture._ To Raiden, she continued, _Fine, fine, I won't hunt him down and gut him in his sleep like he deserves, But I'm not ruling out beating on him at random times if I catch him trying to peak up my skirt again._

Raiden just shook his head and returned to his own examination. To her surprise, it was Hinata who commented, _Why are you worried about your skirt, with what you normally wear?_

------------------------------

The exams continued until late afternoon, eventually full doctors and medic-nins taking over from the more basic tests performed by the nurses. After taking out her frustrations on the Uchiha, Mitsumi found herself better able to handle the relentless poking and prodding, though she did reduce one medic-nin to incoherent rage when the poor woman got a little free with checking Mitsumi's eyes. She did learn, though, that her eyes functioned perfectly fine, but the nerve that should have connected them to her brain was gone, literally not present. It was rather amusing, watching the medic-nin who made that discovery switch from shock to horror to amazement and back.

Finally, as the sun was moving to the horizon, the doctors and nurses finally declared themselves finished, and the seven of them escaped. Mitsumi was more than a little surprised that their two sensei were not waiting for them in the halls, but Anko and Kakashi had made themselves conspicuously absent all day, so she did not mention it. Instead, the seven of them took to the roof-tops, traveling across the village at what was, for shinobi, a fairly sedate pace.

The mystery of the missing teachers was solved shortly, as they approached the street in front of the Dojo. The oddly distorted chakra signatures standing in front of the Dojo were glaringly obvious to her. The odd swirling around Kakashi's eye, and the twisted flare on Anko's neck, were distinctive marks that even from blocks away allowed her to identify the two, if they weren't trying to hide themselves. "Company at home," she said aloud, "Kakashi and Ba-chan."

"Thanks, Mitsumi," Raiden answered.

"She's gonna deck you for that one of these days, 'nee-chan," Juubei commented.

"She already has," Hinata offered, "repeatedly."

Anko's voice drifted up, "Get down here, gaki. It's chilly out here and I don't feel like listening to you kids jabber on about my age while my 'old bones' get cold."

They landed in the street, and the two Jounin waited for their students to precede them inside. It was one of the small gestures that surprised Mitsumi, both in execution, and in how much it affected her. While she was fairly certain the Jounin or an ANBU team, or possibly both, had gone through the Dojo with a fine-toothed comb, the two instructors never entered the building without permission, and always with at least one of her siblings present. The respect for their privacy made it much easier to trust the older shinobi.

"So," Raiden asked, as the two Jounin followed them in, "why are you two here this late? Night training?"

"Not tonight," Anko answered, "We were working while you kids were lounging about all day, and don't feel like it."

"We weren't lounging," Raiden countered.

"More like fighting for our lives. You know the Uchiha, the little pervert, tricked his way into my room in the middle of my exam? Not that I minded the break from that torturer they call a nurse, but really..."

"Urusai, chibi-ko," Anko cut her off. "You keep complaining, I'll send you back for another one." Mitsumi stuck her tongue out, but Anko ignored her. "We spoke with the Hokage this morning, and we've got bad news."

They all tensed. Bad news was dangerous, coming from the Hokage. Raiden spoke first, "Bad news?"

Mitsumi could tell Anko was amused by their reactions. _She's laughing at us,_ she warned Raiden and Hinata, _playing a prank._

_Obviously,_ Raiden replied as Kakashi answered.

"It seems that Konoha is short of candidates for the next Chunin exam," the white-haired Jounin muttered. "Since we're hosting it, it would be rather pathetic to be short-handed, so the Hokage drafted us to put our teams in the ring. You six are already registered for the exams, which start tomorrow, by the way."

"Try not to embarrass us too badly," Anko asked.

The surprise that ran through the Dojo was tangible, consternation and shock. Hinata was the first to recover, "A... Already? Isn't it a little early for this?"

Anko and Kakashi chuckled, before she answered, "Yep. But you kids have most of the skills. To survive, at least. This exam's going to be the biggest in years, so you kids are going to be lucky to place, let alone get promoted. Don't get your hopes up."

"It's an experience," Kakashi said, "Like your first one was supposed to be, Hinata."

Mitsumi didn't like the spike of fear that comment caused her sister, and glared at Kakashi. _Hinata? Raiden? We good with this, or..._

"We're fine, just a little surprised," Raiden said. "I, for one, didn't think the Hokage would ever allow us in the exams, not in any normal capacity. It would be rather difficult to judge our abilities, wouldn't it?"

Anko laughed, "You aren't that hard to read, kid. We'll see how you do against trained shinobi in situations where raw power doesn't mean much. You didn't really shine against those Grass punks on our last mission, not like you keep claiming to."

"We held back," Raiden countered, "Even you had to notice something was off about that situation."

"True. There'll be a lot off in this one. Think you can handle it?"

Mitsumi laughed, "Ba-chan, we can handle anything. You forget we're Guardians?"

"The question," Raiden spoke with heavy patience, glaring at her, "is whether both teams should take the exam at once."

"Why not?"

"Cover," Juubei muttered. "Whichever team is taking the exam won't be able to focus on anything else. If someone interferes with this exam, one team should be available to provide security."

"Konoha shinobi provide security," Anko countered, "those who've already passed their Chunin and Jounin exams. We learned from the Third's death. Learned plenty."

"But we still have our own responsibility, a personal one."

"No," Kakashi said. "This is a mission, for both teams. You must take the exam, you must do your best to pass, those are your orders, from us and from the Hokage. Are you going to deliberately fail in a mission? Throw it for the sake of your own pride?"

"Hinata won't be participating," Anko said, "she can keep an eye out for you, and you know she can get in touch with Raiden and Mitsumi in a heartbeat." Anko chuckled at that, "sickeningly romantic, I know, but still..."

_I don't think they're going to let us avoid this, Raiden._ Hinata's thought was clear, but her usual calm was missing. She was obviously worried.

_No, they aren't,_ he agreed, _but there are ways around everything. _"How long until the exam?"

"Mah, don't plan to sleep in tomorrow," Kakashi told them.

------------------------------

Judeau – Thank you for the compliment. I think the low review count has something to do with the fact that I update very infrequently. The price of doing this for fun, not a living. As for it being new – I guess, but I've had variations on this story running through my head for years. This is the most complicated version I've ever written down, but most of it's already been worked out in my head, so...


	15. 14 Challenges & Conundrums

**Rise of the Guardians**

By Daishi Prime

- 14 – Challenges & Conundrums -

The seven of them were, per instructions, up early the next day. Kakashi and Anko had left the exam passes and instructions the night before, telling them that they, and Hinata, would be waiting for the first day's results with the rest of the Jounin instructors and backup Chunin moderators. So the six of them arrived at the Academy building shortly after sunrise, along with several other shinobi of various affiliations.

At Raiden's gesture, the six of them held back slightly, letting the other shinobi arriving at that time precede them inside, cataloguing the villages that they represented. Most of the groups were Konoha shinobi, but there was a trio from Sand and another from Waterfall. Once those ahead of them were in, the Guardians followed. The other shinboi passed through the entrance hall, and Raiden moved to follow, looking for the room number they had been ordered to report to for the exam.

Mitsumi's voice stopped him, "Hey sibs, you know there's a genjutsu on this hallway, right?"

Raiden stopped and turned. Behind him Juubei had been following a couple steps behind, followed by Yohko and Rumiko, then Kuma. Mitsumi was hidden behind Kuma's bulk for a moment, before he moved. She was staring at him with her head cocked to one side. "Details," he ordered.

"Whole hallway has a genjutsu on it, complicated fluid one, someone's maintaining it directly. Think someone's playing a game with us?"

"With all the candidates, probably. Yohko, thoughts on getting through it?"

Yohko looked up and down the hall, obviously considering it. Behind them, another group of Genin was coming in, pausing on finding them standing blocking the hallway. After a few moments' thought, Yohko asked, "Is there a pattern to it, Mitsumi?"

Mitsumi looked around, studying something the rest of them could not see, then shook her head. "No, not really. Although," she moved up, passing Kuma, and faced a second of the blank wall, "right about here there's a concentration, more chakra than anywhere else." She glared at it for a moment, then grinned, "Under that, there's a really strange twist of chakra, sorta reminds me of Ba-chan. Any bets that's Uchiha-teme?"

Raiden moved up next to her, studying the blank wall as well. It was the same yellow painted plaster over half paneling as the rest of the Academy's interior walls, uniformly boring. He could not detect anything wrong with it, and for a moment just admired the work of the illusion. "Quickest way to break a genjutsu is to break the one holding it," he said. "Kuma, I believe there's supposed to be a door in this wall, how about you make a new one, right about here," he indicated where Mitsumi had said the genjutsu concentrated.

"Right," Kuma rumbled. Raiden and Mitsumi moved to either side, while Kuma settled into a solid stance, drawing his right fist back to his hip. He began to build up a chakra charge, but before he could strike Mitsumi beat him to it.

Raiden caught her flash of amusement a moment before she muttered, "Firecracker." There was a loud crash behind him, and a flash of light so bright that, even facing away from it, it turned the whole world white for a moment and forced him to blink and cover his eyes in reflex. He heard everyone else crying out in surprise, but managed to stifle the reflex himself, though even he could not help flinching and blinking madly. It took several seconds for his vision to clear, and the ringing in his ears lasted for hours, fading away very slowly.

When he looked around again, Mitsumi was leaning against the other wall of the hall, a massive grin on her face, surrounded by a blackened aura of scorched paint, plaster and wood. Even the ceiling, a good nine feet overhead, had been blackened. Before he could say anything, she pointed to where Kuma had been about to strike and, speaking louder than normal, said, "Awww, you didn't have those pretty red targets up. Kuso, you can probably still see, can't you Uchiha-teme?" Turning back around, Raiden found Uchiha Sasuke blinking furiously, leaning against the wall halfway between two doors which had not been present when he had last looked. The Chunin was glaring at Mitsumi, but not moving from his place, arms crossed on his chest, legs braced wide. From the pull of his clothes, he had slid sideways a foot or so and not had time to correct.

"Loose your balance, Uchiha-teme?" Mitsumi's voice was sugary sweet as she asked that, causing Uchiha's glare to deepen.

"Oh look," Juubei said, faking surprise rather poorly as he looked at the small metal plate over one door, "room one thirty, the exam room. What a surprise."

"Thank you for your assistance, Uchiha," Raiden offered, nodding, then he grabbed Mitsumi's arm and hauled her to the door. _You shouldn't have done that. Kuma could have dealt with him easily enough, forced him to drop the genjutsu._

_I owed him,_ Mitsumi countered, _for yesterday. Besides, teme's too arrogant to understand how much damage Kuma'd have done to him._

_Are you two alright? _Hinata's mental voice carried her concern quite clearly, _several of the Genin just fled the Academy building, is something wrong?_

Raiden sighed, knowing it was going to be an even longer day than he had planned. _Mitsumi was playing, Hinata. A few of the Genin coming in behind us were surprised. Nothing to worry about._

_Be careful,_ Hinata warned,_ Fighting in the first round of the exam is forbidden._

_That wasn't a fight,_ Mitsumi countered, _just teaching Uchiha-teme a lesson_.

_Please don't do that either, onee-chan,_ Hinata told her.

Room One-Thirty proved to be one of the Academy's large-audience classrooms, with three-person desks in tiers, enough seating for several regular classes to share a lesson. As a change, folding chairs and benches had been arranged around all four walls, providing currently unoccupied seating. Several Genin were already gathered, remaining clustered in their teams rather than mingling, occasionally shooting suspicious glares at the other teams.

Raiden considered the crowd for a few moments, then waved to a set of chairs along the perimeter, currently unoccupied. The others followed, and while Yohko, Rumiko and Kuma settled into seats, Juubei and Mitsumi remained standing with him. Like the others, they all maintained a wary watch, but unlike the others, they did not speak, after Raiden conferred briefly with each of them. They were more than familiar enough with each other, and did not feel the need.

They were left in tension for half an hour, as more and more Genin found their way past the Uchiha's genjutsu and into the room. Finally, he entered the room himself, slammed the sliding door shut with one heel, and pinned it in place with a kunai. Door locked, he dropped back into his arrogantly relaxed posture, a superior smirk on his face, and called out, "All Genin, grab a seat. Anyone caught sitting next to a teammate will be ejected from the exam." Then he turned and glared at Mitsumi, "and the six of you count as one team. You've got one minute to get seated. Anyone standing when Morino-san gets here fails."

Raiden held out a hand, letting the other shinobi rush to their seats. A few sent curious glances towards the Guardians, but Raiden ignored them to watch the Uchiha, who returned his regard with his usual superior smirk. The staring match continued until the door at the head of the class began sliding open, at which point Raiden dropped his arm, and he disappeared. Yohko's genjutsu illusion of the six of them collapsed in an instant while, spaced about the room, six Chunin vanished in flashes of light, the Guardian's appearing in their place.

The man who walked in through the front door was towering, massive frame made even more intimidated by his bald head, blatant scarring, and heavy trench coat. The Konoha forehead protector was almost as badly scarred as his face, both of them plainly veterans. He was quite obviously confident, powerful, and had little to fear from anyone in this room. It was quite the impressive show, but Raiden found himself more impressed by the man's eyes. More than stance or appearance, his eyes told Raiden that he feared nothing in this room. It was not the fearlessness of skill or power, but that of one who has seen their own limits, and is comfortable within them, the fearlessness of someone with nothing to prove to anyone.

Before he even reached his position centered before the gathered Genin, Raiden knew no one would ever intimidate him more than this man. The Uchiha's raw strength, Tsunade's proven power and leadership abilities, Lord Hyuuga's experience, none of them were as difficult for him to fathom or counter as this man's utter self-awareness. Raiden felt himself bristling, and had to work to keep it under control.

"My name is Morino Ibiki," he rumbled, deep confident voice rumbling through the room leaving attentive silence in its wake, "I have the displeasure of monitoring the first portion of this Chunin Exam. You have the misfortune to sit the written test while I monitor it. Along with these gentlemen." One hand rose, indicating the walls, and a massive cloud of smoke burst into the room. When it cleared, each matching the Uchiha's relaxed posture, the seats along the walls were full of Chunin. Like the Genin they surrounded, they were mostly Konoha shinobi, but there were several representative of other villages included in the mix.

"These shinobi will assist me in keeping an eye on you. This first portion of the exam is conducted as a group, testing your combined knowledge. You are separated to keep you from reading each other's papers, but if one of your teammates fails, all of you fail. Before you, you will find a pencil and an exam paper. There are nine questions on that paper, which you must answer to the best of your abilities. At the end of this hour, when you have answered all nine questions, I will provide you with the tenth and final question. Every question you answer incorrectly will loose one point from your beginning score of ten. You must have at least one point left at the end of the exam to pass."

He cracked a miniscule smile, "As a final note, anyone caught cheating will also fail this exam, failing his teammates at the same time. Begin!"

------------------------------

Some distance away, in the Jounin lounge of the Hokage's tower, a rather larger number of shinobi than the room was actually meant to accommodate waited. The audience – formed of gathered teachers for the younger teams, representatives from other villages, Jounin awaiting missions, and Jounin curious about the current crop of candidates – perched wherever they could find space, including on table tops, windowsills, the ceiling and, for the early arrivals, chairs. One wall had several televisions placed against it, patched in to cameras monitoring the exam room.

Morino's speech came through, then a rumble of commentary from the audience. Most were commenting on how he had changed it from when they took the exam, a few expressing pity for the hapless Genin, and a few more daring to make fun of Morino's theatrics. Anko, predictably enough, was part of the latter group, which she headed with long and loud commentary.

Sitting beside Anko, with Kakashi stretched out beneath his book on the table behind them, Hinata was experiencing mild flash-backs to her own academy days. The only Chunin in the room, she was uncomfortable being surrounded by this many Jounin. So many experienced shinobi with demonstrated ability left her feeling rather small and young, and the foreigners did not help. They obviously knew who she was, which had required several minutes of diplomatic pleasantries on her part before they had taken Anko's hints and moved on, but the Konoha shinobi were worse, in a way. They were all familiar with her, in a general way, and felt no shame about turning the discussions with her to the Seal and her siblings. It was very intimidating, and she had to struggle not to stutter or, worse, start tapping her fingertips together again. The stress she could feel from Mitsumi and, especially, Raiden, was doing little to help, either.

Eventually, as Morino was giving his introduction, Kurenai and Asuma moved aside the latest group of questioners, taking shameless advantage of having been teachers to her Academy class to create a pocket of relative privacy.

Asuma was the first to actually ask her about how the others would do in the exam, "Think they'll have any chance?"

Hinata shrugged, looking at her clasped hands. "I think Yohko and Rumiko will do well, Juubei will answer any weapon questions also. As for the others, I am uncertain."

Kurenai asked, "What about the spying and passing information? That's what this portion of the exam is about, after all."

Anko fielded that one, "That's gonna be fun to find out. They haven't really had to demonstrate those skills yet, so we're not sure how good the gaki are, really. They talk a good line, of course, but..."

"Theory versus Reality," Asuma rumbled, nodding along.

"I've got an idea," Anko muttered, smiling slyly, "but I don't know if they'll be quick enough to think it up themselves, and _I_ sure as hell didn't tell 'em."

_Hinata?_

Raiden's thought was a surprise, causing her to twitch. She smiled awkwardly at Kurenai before shaking her head. _Yes, Onii-chan?_

_I was wondering if I could you could answer a question for me?_

She knew before he finished asking what he was after. Part of her was amused and amazed that he thought of it, while part of her was aghast at his circumventing the exam rules so clearly and easily. They were supposed to get the information from the Chunin seeded in amongst the candidates, not from someone in another building.

_Cheater,_ Mitsumi replied, joining the conversation, _so will you, Hinata-chan?_

_Ano, cheating is against the rules of the exam._

She could almost hear his laughter. _Getting _caught _cheating is against the rules,_ he corrected, _if we don't get caught, it isn't against the rules, ne?_

_What about Yohko, and Juubei's team?_

_Juubei's got Rumiko,_ Raiden countered. _She's sitting next to one of the Chunin, and she's the best of us at her signals. As for Yohko, she's probably answered half of them already. Mitsumi and I are the ones in trouble, maybe Kuma._

Hinata sighed, shaking her head slightly, _you two are so troublesome. You're going to get _me _in trouble if we get caught._

_No one's going to notice,_ Mitsumi reassured.

_Anko and Kakashi know all about our link, so does the Hokage. Sasuke and the others know something, maybe enough to figure it out, like Father did. But... What is the first question?_ It may not have been the way they were supposed to get the answers, but shinobi were supposed to be resourceful and unpredictable, after all.

For half an hour, Hinata limited her interaction with the Jounin around her to a few simple words and gestures, focusing on the questions from the exam. Raiden and Mitsumi alternated questions, trading ideas as Hinata tried to determine the correct answers. It was surprisingly entertaining – questions written to be impossible for Genin were difficult for a Chunin – and Hinata was finally able to relax despite her august company, the give and take of arguing with Mitsumi and Raiden providing the familiarity she needed.

She never noticed the occasional smirks Anko gave.

The only real problem came about half way through the exam, as the Chunin were beginning to remove candidates caught cheating. One question was just too complicated, too far outside her experience for her to extrapolate the answer. She struggled with it for a while, but the three of them simply could not come up with an answer. Finally, in desperation, she spoke aloud, "Ano, Kurenai-sensei? Can I ask you a question?"

The red-eyed woman turned to her from listening to Asuma, quirking one eyebrow, "Certainly, Hinata."

"Ano, I've been going over the test questions..."

That got everyone's attention, causing Hinata to shrink into herself slightly. "How did you get them?" Kurenai's voice was painfully neutral.

"Ah... there," Hinata said, pointing at the line of televisions showing the exam room, then at her eyes. The all-black orbs unnerved people, and more than one person had assumed that their weird structure meant her Byakugan was always active. Kurenai and Asuma appeared to accept that, though Kakashi made an odd noise from where he still lay behind Hinata and Anko was looking the other way.

"That's impressive," Kurenai complimented her, "Which are giving you problems?"

"Only one," Hinata offered, "and only part of it." She proceeded to explain for a minute, going over what she had figured out versus what the exam question was asking. Kurenai listened, nodding along at parts of her answer, shaking her head at others.

"You're close, Hinata, but you see, it's actually a trick question, though you have to understand both Earth and Water jutsu very well to see that." Kurenai then proceeded to explain just what the trick to it was, and why she thought it was a bad question on the Chunin exam. Anko's coughing fit was something of a distraction, but Hinata tuned her out to focus on the immediate concern.

In the back of her mind, as her former teacher carried on in detail, Hinata could feel Raiden and Mitsumi's wrapped attention. Anko never actually _explained_ anything, not as clearly and directly as Kurenai now was. The closest they had ever come was Yohko when she fell into what everyone else called her 'lecture mode', and even that was not as easy to understand. Yohko did not have Kurenai's experience in teaching.

When the older woman wound down, Hinata nodded along, "Thank you, Kurenai-sensei that does make more sense than what I was thinking." _Is that enough? Should I ask about any of the other questions?_

_Thank you, Hinata,_ Raiden answered, _that's more than enough. We should be fine now, except for the last question. I think we can get that one easily enough, if what you remember of your own Chunin exams holds true._

_Thanks, Hinata,_ Mitsumi added, _we're golden._

_Good luck,_ Hinata sent, returning her attention to those around her just as Kurenai spoke again.

"I'm glad I could help. Still, I'm surprised you were worried over these questions, Hinata. I hope you aren't thinking they'll prepare you for the Jounin exam, which is completely different."

Hinata was about to reply when Anko, one hand over her mouth and the other wrapped around her stomach, could not hold it in any more. The older Jounin exploded in laughter, doubling over from the force of it, now pounding on her knee. She was laughing so hard, trying to point at Kurenai, that she missed Kakashi's foot until it had pushed her shoulder hard enough to send her tumbling to the floor. Where she continued laughing hysterically.

Initially, the other four (as well as the rest of the Jounin in the room) could only stare at her in shock. Even for Anko, this sort of ridiculous loss of dignity was a bit much. Asuma recovered first, nudging the hysterical Jounin with one foot, muttering around his cigarette, "Oi, Anko. Y'all right? What's s' funny?"

"Ku... Kurenai!" Anko managed to choke out. With an obvious effort, she got control long enough to explain, "Kurenai's been had! By her own student!" Then she dissolved into peals of laughter again.

When Kurenai and the rest looked to Hinata for an explanation, she could only sink into her seat. She could feel her finger tips pressing together again, but couldn't really see them for the floor. She knew she was blushing furiously, but tried to explain. "A... ano...," was all she could get out.

"Raiden and Mitsumi," Kakashi muttered.

Kurenai switched her gaze back and forth between Kakashi and Hinata, "Anko's Genin? The ones taking the exam? What about them?"

"Th... they asked me... for help," Hinata managed to force out.

Kurenai's eyes went wide, "But they're in the Academy, halfway across the village, practically! How can they..." She stopped cold, turning thoughtful, "... that sealing they did on you, the one which got Tsunade's attention. It did more than just bind that seal on your hand, didn't it?"

"Y... yes," Hinata agreed, "We can talk to each other."

"And you just used it, used me, to cheat on the Chunin exam?" Hinata could not make out the tone of that question, so she just nodded, certain Kurenai was about to explode. Instead, "Incredible. The only obedient student I've ever head finally breaks a rule, and I'm the one she suckers."

Anko finally got control of herself, enough to speak, at least, though tears were still rolling down her face and she was struggling to catch her breath. "Oh, spirits, Kurenai you're so oblivious! What I had to do not to laugh! I _knew _that little bastard was going to try that, just knew it!"

"Fine, fine," Kurenai waved Anko's laughter aside, "I just can't believe Hinata lied to me. Especially that well!"

"I... I didn't lie, Kurenai-san," Hinata said.

"Said you saw the questions on the monitors," Asuma muttered.

"No," Hinata shook her head, smiling slightly as she glanced up at the ranked television screens, "I pointed. At Raiden." She pointed again, at the same monitor, and sure enough, sitting almost exactly centered in its view, was Mitsumi, Raiden visible at the very edge of the screen several seats back. "And at the outward sign of our binding. We all have the same eyes, Asuma-san."

"No wonder I didn't catch her, then. None of the usual signs of lying, she was being totally honest."

"Signs of diversion were masked by her shyness," Asuma agreed.

From his table, Kakashi asked, "Hmm, does this qualify as getting caught cheating, I wonder?"

"N... none of us are overseeing the exam," Hinata offered, "We aren't responsible for catching them. If the moderators don't catch them..."

"They're home free," Anko said. "Besides, this isn't about them answering the questions, it's about their ability to gather information and pass it amongst themselves unnoticed."

Kurenai asked, "What about Yohko and Mitsumi?"

"Mitsumi is part of the link with Raiden," Anko told her, "as for Yohko," she pulled a face, half glare half pout, "that girl probably answered them in the first ten minutes. No tactical sense whatsoever, but put a book in front of her and she'll tell you what errors the writer made before you can let go."

"Your team, Kakashi?" Asuma seemed interested now, where before he had merely been observing, now he was actually leaning forward slightly.

"Mah, who knows?" Kakashi's patented answer to questions requiring explanation came as no surprise.

"They will pass," Hinata said, "Rumiko and Yohko will share information, they are very good at Rumiko's sign-language. Rumiko will then pass the answers on to Juubei and Kuma. Since none of the Chunin watching has caught them yet, they must be doing well. Juubei and Kuma don't have to do anything but watch, and Rumiko can be very unobtrusive when she wants to be."

"Slick," Asuma complimented, "You warn them 'bout this?"

Hinata flushed again, "Ah, yes? Mitsumi and Raiden, at least, learned of it during the binding. They know... everything I do, as I know of them."

"Everything? Imagine that gets embarrassing."

_I can't begin to describe,_ she thought, making sure Mitsumi and Raiden weren't listening in. Verbally, she settled for a soft, "Yes. But it's nice, having someone that knows me that well, that I know that well."

Kurenai was suddenly leaning forward, her face less than a foot from Hinata's, a playful smile on her face. "Oooh, that sounds like a couple talking. Is my shy little Hinata developing more than just the ability to stump her teacher?"

"K... K... Kurenai-sensei!" Hinata thought she was going to die of embarrassment then and there. Asking something like that, in front of so many strangers, she could feel her face getting so hot she thought she would burst into flames. Naturally, Kurenai's question set Anko off on another hysterical laughing fit, this time at Hinata's expense. "T... the link... i... isn't like... that."

Apparently her attempt to keep the others unaware failed, as Raiden asked, _Are you all right, Hinata?_

_I'm fine,_ she told him, his attention making her embarrassment even worse, _worry about the exam!_

Things degenerated from there. Kakashi and Asuma at least stayed out of it, but Anko and Kurenai were merciless. She knew they were not being mean, just friendly teasing, but it was still horribly, horribly embarrassing. Especially when the two of them started acting out 'confessions' and giving her pointers on how to do it right. Not the way she expected, or wanted, her day to go.

------------------------------

Back in the Academy exam room, things had progressed rather rapidly. By the time Raiden and Mitsumi got the last question from Hinata, over half the candidates had been removed. Now, most of them were simply waiting, marking time as the clock counted down. Raiden was pleasantly surprised to find that all six Guardians were still in the room, and appeared to be finished. Juubei even appeared to be sleeping, arms crossed, head back, paper face down before him with one foot holding it down.

Finally, Morino cleared his throat, "Pencils down. It is now time for the final question." He glared about, waiting for the last of the remaining candidates to stop moving and give him their full attention. "This last question is different from the others. You will choose, whether to take this question or not."

_Sounds familiar,_ Raiden told Mitsumi, feeling rather amused at the shocked looks of the other Genin.

Inevitably, one of them asked what that meant. "Those of you who choose not to take the final question, will fail. Your teams will fail with you. However! Those of you who take this final question and answer incorrectly, will also fail! Regardless of the other nine questions, your exam, and your teammates', will be thrown out."

"On one question?" One of the Waterfall shinobi had the guts to actually stand up and complain, "But we worked so damn hard on the rest!"

"Lasting this long through the questions proved you had the basic skills to be a Chunin," Yohko answered, before Morino could speak. "They thinned out the crowd of those who lack the requisite subtlety. You were supposed to prove you could gather and pass information secretly, answering the questions was immaterial. This last question..." She stopped, and smiled back at Morino glare, "... well, I'll explain it to you afterwards, if you still do not understand."

Morino's gaze did not waver, "You think you understand this, girl? I know for a fact that you have never taken this exam before, rookie."

Yohko nodded, "I make a habit of studying my missions, Jounin. This one was easy enough to study, though the rest of it is going to be difficult."

"How did you obtain the answers to the questions?"

"Logic," she answered. "Book learning is easy for me, Morino-san. It is other things I have trouble with."

"You think you can logic your way through the tenth question?"

Yohko's smile shifted, becoming whimsical. "I think I'll rely on my teammates for this one, Morino-san."

He stared at her for a moment longer, then rounded on the rest of the candidates. "There is one more condition to the final question. Those of you who undertake it," and here, he finally smiled, "Will have one member of your team, selected by me, take the final question for all of you. If they fail it, you all fail it. And," he chuckled slightly, "If you fail this final question, I will personally see to it that you remain a Genin for the remainder of your natural existence."

Shocked sounds rolled through the classroom, near panic in several cases, to the obvious amusement of the still-watching Chunin. Morino allowed it to continue for a few moments, then slammed his palm on the blackboard behind him. The thunderous sound drew silence and attention to him again. "If you choose to leave, you may take the Chunin exam again in a year, and hope to have a different, more lenient, moderator. However, I am not here to coddle you children, I am here to see which amongst you has what it takes to become a Chunin, a leader amongst shinobi. This last question will answer that, permanently. So, choose, and choose quickly. I will give you two minutes to decide."

Almost immediately, one candidate stood up. Without a word, he turned and strode for the door, followed shortly by his two teammates. Raiden looked around, gauging the others. _Stay put, Mitsumi,_ he ordered, _we're not leaving._ She nodded back, and when he looked at Yohko, she merely cocked an eyebrow, still smiling. Looking to the opposite side of the room, he found Juubei staring at him. Up to you, he signed to his brother, This is the final question, Onee-san remembers similar ones from both of her Chunin exams. Staying or leaving, the choice itself is the answer.

Juubei shook his head slightly, waiting for another departing candidate to stop blocking the way, think maybe we should split up, divide up the chances of being right?

"You boys should be contemplating your own futures," Morino rumbled from the front, causing some confusion amongst the other candidates, "not discussing inconsequential things. Make your choices."

Raiden looked at him, then stood up, bowed slightly to him, drawing the attention of everyone in the room, then turned to Juubei. "I like your idea, but that would be cheating our way out of the Hokage's mission. She told us to do our best, so... Up to you." He finished with a shrug, then settled back and put his feet up on the desk, quirking an eyebrow at the Jounin.

Juubei nodded, then stood up. "Split the difference. Come on, Kuma, Rumiko. We're done here."

"Make your own decision, Genin," Morino ordered. "Don't decide based on someone else's orders."

Juubei looked at him oddly for a moment, then shook his head. "Didn't you hear him, Morino-san? Raiden thinks I and my team should stay. If I listened to him, you'd have to deal with all of us, ne?" Then he turned and walked out, the other two trailing along behind him, Rumiko in a hurry to catch Juubei, Kuma taking the time to wave goodbye to the rest.

Morino gave them more than two minutes, closer to three. Less than a quarter of those who had first entered the exam room were still seated when he decided no one else would leave voluntarily. The tension level in the room was palpable, had risen with every candidate who walked out, but the thirty Genin still seated were made of sterner stuff, possibly even stern enough. The only ones that confused him were the three who had pushed his temper most, Raiden, Mitsumi and Yohko. The three of them had sat there, utterly calm and apparently unaware of the tension as Genin after Genin gave up and walked out, rather than risk their futures. The blind girl was even flipping a kunai negligently while she imitated her team-leader's relaxed pose. Raiden, for his part, appeared to be sleeping.

"Well, since your two minutes are up," Morino rumbled, "I suppose it's time for the last question. Those of you who remained to take the final question... all of you... _pass_! Congratulations, you have successfully completed the first part of the Chunin Exam!"

Most of the candidates, save those three bothersome ones, looked about at each other, seeking confirmation from their teammates that their hearing was, indeed, functional. Most of the Chunin, as befitted those who had already done this, were amused by the confusion, and did little to hide that amusement. One of the Genin finally got up the nerve to ask, "Morino-san? We actually..."

"Since she offered to explain," Morino said, turning to look at the only Genin that was neither shocked nor sleeping.

Yohko smiled more normally, and turned to the Genin who had spoken, "The tenth question was the choice. In staying or leaving, we answered. If you left, you obviously lacked trust in your teammates. If you stayed, you trusted all your teammates enough to put your future, your life, in their hands. Shinobi must trust their teammates, or they will fail in their missions, and Chunin must trust more than others, since they often lead teams of Genin that are less skilled than themselves." She turned back to Morino, "or at least, that's what I presume, seeing as those of us who remained are the ones who passed."

"You expected this, didn't you?"

"I told you, Morino-san, I study my missions. You, in particular of this exam's moderators, are adept at putting candidates through stress designed to test their mental toughness, and you have always been a vocal advocate of teams, and the need for those teams to have absolute trust in one another. Personally, if I were Raiden, I would have ordered Juubei and his team to stay."

"This way one team's available if something comes up, not tied up with jumping through the exam's hoops," Raiden countered, still looking asleep. "We fulfill our mission as ordered by Hokage-sama, and maintain our standing watch. Win-win situation."

From the back, Sasuke asked, "That confident, are you?"

"We simply are unconcerned with traditional ranks," Yohko informed him, "we do not feel the pressure, since we do not worry about the end result.

"We don't need to be confident, Uchiha-teme," Mitsumi countered, "we are what we are, and whatever this test throws at us, we've seen and done worse."

"Don't be so sure of that," Morino commented. "Your next examiner is here." He nodded to the man who had slipped in unnoticed through the back door. "Gemma. They're all yours."

The somewhat disheveled looking man in a Jounin's uniform cast a jaundiced eye over the crowd of Genin, twitching the senbon needle in his lips erratically. "Hmph, too many, Morino. You're going soft."

"You got there first, Gemma. Take these punks off my hands before I show them what real 'stress' is."

"Mah, whatever. You kids, follow me. Top of the Hokage monument."

------------------------------

Several minutes later, a small crowd had gathered atop the Hokage's monument, groups of three trying to remain close to the Jounin in their midst without getting too close to any other group of three. Gemma, for his part, was patently not in any hurry, crouching atop the guard rail, staring out over the village.

"Behind me," he said, once everyone was gathered, "are mountains. Quite a few of them. Some of you came here through those mountains. Tomorrow, you get to go back in. One day's hike due west of here is a small tower in the middle of a pass. You'll recognize it when you see it. Your job is to get there. You have three days. Your other job, is to get there with one of each of these," he held out his hands to either side, each holding a scroll with a different color of banding. "Each team gets one, randomly decided. Each team starts out at a different time. Only teams that reach the tower with one unopened scroll of each color passes. Other than that, mah, who cares? We'll have medic-nins on standby in case some of you hurt yourselves. Sunrise tomorrow, Genin. Bring whatever you like." Orders given, he rolled forward, falling off the guardrail and vanishing back into the village.

------------------------------

The Muses Tk & Zv – It's not the second part of the exam, but hopefully this lived up to expectations. Figuring out the 'tenth question' without just copying the series was a bear.


	16. 15 Allies & Ambushes

**Rise of the Guardians**

By Daishi Prime

- 15 – Allies & Ambushes -

Per tradition, the night between the first and second parts of the Chunin Exam were spent by the candidates with their team leaders. It was supposed to be a time for advice, rest and contemplation of lessons learned in the first part. In the case of the Guardians, it was spent back at the Dojo planning, packing and trying to get either Jounin to actually provide some advice.

Hinata arrived after sundown, from the Hyuuga manor where her sister Hanabi and her teammates were receiving the advice of not just her Jounin, but Lord Hyuuga and Neiji as well. Hinata had stayed long enough for politeness and honest congratulations to the latest family genius, then slipped out to check on her second family. To her surprise, when she arrived, both teams were packing their field kits.

Anko accosted her almost immediately, waving from her seat at the back, "Oi, Hina-chan! Come over here a minute, will you?"

_Careful,_ Raiden cautioned without leaving his room, _she's been acting drunk all afternoon. Not sure if she really is or not, but..._

_Arigato,_ Hinata responded, then remembered part of the reason Anko was being silly, and blushing in remembered embarrassment. Hopefully the older woman would drop it here, but you could never tell with Anko. She walked down the length of the Dojo, noting Kakashi leaning against one of the rear pillars. "Yes, Anko?"

"Got a question for you, girl," Anko said, then waved grandly at the second-floor rooms. "What do you think, did Juubei's team deliberately throw that exam question? If one of these gaki understood it, all of them had to have understood it as well, don't you think? So Juubei had to know that leaving was the wrong answer."

Hinata blinked at her for a moment, surprised, then thought about it. It was true that all the Guardians, herself included, would have preferred to have only one team at a time taking the exam. Most of the reason for that was this second part, traditionally the longest and most isolated as candidate teams were deliberately left incommunicado for days. However, while Raiden would have thought of throwing the exam, and been perfectly willing to do it, Juubei probably would not have, and neither of them would have been as blatant.

"I do not believe so, Anko," Hinata said after a while, "There is, after all, an alternative interpretation of the last question's meaning."

Mitsumi appeared beside her, hanging upside down from the cross-beam. "Trust another shinobi with our futures? Especially one as hostile as Ibiki? Not likely, Ba-chan."

"Urusai, chibi-ko," Anko snapped back, "I wasn't talking to you."

"Yes you were," Mitsumi said, "You asked Hinata. Same as asking me or Raiden. Kami-sama, Ba-chan, you should know that by now."

"Please behave, Mitsumi," Hinata asked, "Though she is correct, Anko. Remaining for the tenth question could have been construed as trusting Morino-san, who had demonstrated his hostility throughout. Also, I believe that what Juubei said was honest, they were splitting the risk, to ensure that one team could continue, whatever the correct answer."

Anko grimaced, crossing her arms in a good imitation of Mitsumi sulking, "Tche, the gaki are going to skate out of another one, aren't they?"

"Relax, Anko," Kakashi said, "It's not like it's your team the Hokage's going to be yelling at in the morning."

Hinata shot him a quizzical look, but could not see around his book, "Ano, why would she be yelling?"

"They were supposed to go as far as they could," Anko said, "The Hokage really wanted to see how both teams fared in the later portions of the exam, especially round three."

"Yeah, 'bout those," Mitsumi asked, still hanging from her knees, "those are single combat duels, right? No holds barred?"

Anko laughed, "Right, Mitsumi, no holds barred. Though, killing your opponents is a good way to fail."

"So when Raiden and I face off, it'll be for real?"  
"Don't get too excited, Kitsune," he answered for Anko, passing the group on his way into the kitchen, "whatever the rules of the exam, standing rules of engagement remain in force. No wholesale destruction allowed."

"Tche, like I'm interested in that. I'm finally going to get a chance to kick your ass."

He just shook his head, withdrawing from the conversation. Anko picked up the thread by changing the subject, "Right, Hinata, since you're here now, I've got a bit of an experiment I want to run. You up for playing guinea pig?"

After the morning's antics, Hinata was uncertain about trusting Anko with anything. On the other hand, Anko was her superior. "What did you want to try?"

Anko grinned sadistically, "Well, seeing as how close you are with Mitsumi and Raiden..." the woman trailed off, and Hinata felt her face turning crimson. Before she could protest, Anko plowed on, "I'd like to see just how far away you can get and still be able to reach them. Nothing too extravagant, just yet, but this morning you showed you can reach from the Academy to the Hokage's Tower. That's about as far as you've reached on any of the missions yet. Let's run up to the Hokage Monument, where they're starting from tomorrow, and see if the gaki can still hear you."

"All right, Anko," Hinata agreed, "Raiden, Mitsumi, we'll be back in a little while."

"Don't drop your guard," Raiden suggested, "Anko's going to try something."

"Baka," Mitsumi insulted him, "Hinata knows that better than you."

Anko, for her part, looked insulted, "Raiden, you wound me. I would never do anything to hurt Hina-chan, you know that!"

"Didn't say anything about hurting her," Raiden said, looking up from the small meal he was putting together. "But that was you causing her to feel all flustered, panicked and embarrassed this morning, wasn't it?"

Hinata cut that off before it could lead somewhere uncomfortable, grabbing Anko's arm, "Shall we go, Anko? Sooner gone, sooner done, ne?"

It took her a few more minutes, but she and Anko were soon strolling through Konoha's streets. The older woman was in no hurry, staring at the stars as she walked, hands cupped behind her head in unconscious imitation of her niece's favorite pose. Anko was content to remain silent most of the way, and Hinata let her, simply studying Konoha's evening ambiance.

As they were climbing the path to the top of the monument, Anko finally spoke, voice unusually serious. "Tomorrow, don't help them."

"I'm sorry?"

Anko didn't look at her, merely repeated, "Don't help them. Not tomorrow, the day after, not until after they've reached the tower with two scrolls."

Hinata shook her head, "I will not be going out there. Father wishes to train with me while they are gone, to study my new capabilities for himself."

"I wasn't talking about physical help, Hinata. You're the peace-keeper of this little group, and you do something through that link to calm them down. You can't do that tomorrow, not a thing."

Hinata shoved her hands in her pockets, staring at her feet as she walked. After a few moments of silence, she said, "I can't help it, Anko, not much. According to them, just having me nearby helps calm them down." She smiled before adding, "Mitsumi says I feel 'serene' to them. I wish I was, but... it's an unavoidable part of the link. Even if I block them, they still feel it."

Anko seemed to consider that, then, "That's unfortunate. But you do more than that, don't you? There've been times I was certain one or the other would explode, but they just stopped, suddenly. That was you, ne?"

"Hai. I can do something more... active. And I won't, for the rest of the exam. But... Part of it is unavoidable, Anko. A part of the Seal and the binding."

"Just, don't do anything you can avoid doing tomorrow," Anko said, "the next couple of days are supposed to test their independence, their ability to function without support. If you go keeping them calm and friendly..."

"I understand, Anko," Hinata said, "and I won't do anything."

"Good. Just wanted to make sure of that."

"This walk wasn't about the link at all, was it, Anko?"

The Jounin grinned, shaking her head, "You've been hanging out with Raiden too long, girl. You're starting to get a nasty suspicious streak."

Hinata smiled, "And I'm right, aren't I?" Anko just laughed, shaking her head and refusing to answer. After a few minutes, Hinata asked, "About the third part. Will there be a month delay as there was for both of my exams?"

"A little less than that, this time, a couple of days." Anko then explained, "It's a matter of scheduling for the Kazekage. It'll be Gaara-kun's first visit here since that business with Orochimaru was finished, so Tsunade's trying to be as accommodating as possible."

Hinata nodded, accepting that. While the alliance between the Sand and Leaf was one of the strongest currently active amongst the Hidden Villages, it was still rare for a Kage to travel to another Village. "Have you thought about what you'll do for training, if they get through the second part of the exam?"

Anko chuckled, giving her junior a smirk, "I bet you've given it more. What're you thinking? Want to drag Raiden off into the bushes somewhere?"

Hinata blushed, "A... Anko! D... don't start that a... again!" It took her a moment to regain her composure, then she continued, "A... actually, I was thinking about training Mitsumi, if you don't mind? I have a couple of ideas I would like to try, to help her with her control."

Anko nodded along as she spoke, "Sure, that's good. I was going to ask you to take one of them. Now I just need to find someone to train Raiden."

Hinata blinked in surprise, "You aren't going to?"

Anko shook her head, "Nope. Yohko needs more help with combat training than Raiden does. I'd ask Kakashi, but he has his team, and will probably be out on missions. Maybe Sakura could make some time..."

Hinata grinned, imagining the scene that would result from her own idea of a trainer, then presented it. "How about Sasuke? He would like the chance to find out more about what a Guardian can do, and Raiden could use the experience dealing with someone he hates."

Anko chuckled, countering, "Same's true of your father. Do you think Hiashi would be willing? Or maybe Neiji?"

Hinata shook her head, "No, they are already discussing the best training for Hanabi if her team makes it through the second part. What about..." the rest of the way to the top of the monument, they discussed the various Jounin both of them knew, even a few Chunin Hinata thought would be a good match. Some of Anko's suggestions were truly strange, but Hinata was surprised at how many of them would probably work.

------------------------------

The day of the second part of the Chunin exam dawned cool and grey, a low overcast deadening the sun's rays. Gemma's instructions had been clear – they were to be at the top of the monument by first light, dawn. Every Genin who passed Morino's test was there well before. Once again, they remained in the discrete groups of their teams, not daring to mingle with the people they would soon be fighting.

Raiden leaned against the rail, back to the open space behind him, Yohko beside him looking out over the village, while Mitsumi was sitting against a post, head back, apparently asleep. All three of them were considering the three-man teams arrayed around them, trying to determine their apparent strengths and weaknesses. Mostly, Raiden was impressed.

The two Sand teams were obviously old partners, each a team in truth, doing much the same as Raiden and his sisters. One of the Mist teams was also a set team, though they were more distant with each other than the Sand teams. The members of the other Mist team, the Waterfall team, and two of those from Konoha were uncomfortable with each other, to various degrees, to the point where even Mitsumi, who was far from the most empathic of the Guardians, could figure out how to split them. The rest of the Konoha teams were solid, three of them as close-knit as the Sand teams. The other four teams were better than the Waterfall team, whose members were watching each other as much as their competitors, but they lacked the instinctive knowledge of where their teammates were.

All in all, Raiden was confident that they could get a second scroll, but not so confident they could hold onto both long enough to reach the tower. The only team that seriously concerned him, however, was Hanabi's. She was, quite obviously, the leader of her team, the two boys with her standing behind her shoulders and reacting to her movements, instead of acting for themselves. All three of them, when they arrived, took to studying the Guardians and no one else. Hanabi's face was carefully neutral, and Raiden was honestly uncertain of what, in any way, she was thinking.

With the cloud cover, telling when dawn arrived was almost impossible. So they had to take it as a matter of faith that, when Gemma appeared in a puff of smoke, it actually was dawn. He looked over the crowd of Genin, then sighed, shaking his head slightly. "Well, let's get on with it," he said laconically. "Your sensei drew lots last night to determine the order teams would depart. When I call out a sensei's name, step forward and collect your scroll. You're then clear to go whenever you like. Aye's team, you're first."

One of the weaker Konoha teams stepped forward, surrounding the Jounin. Hidden by their bodies, he pulled out a scroll and passed it to them. They promptly disappeared, the rattle of a roof tile the only indication of their direction. Gemma then lay down on his rail, stretching out with another sigh, "Ten minutes to half an hour for the next one. If you're not here when I call your team, you forfeit."

Three more teams left, one each Konoha, Waterfall and Sand. Each time was the same, the team gathered around Gemma, stood there for a minute, then vanished. Finally, he rolled upright again and called out, "Kami help me, Mitarashi's Team."

Raiden, Mitsumi and Yohko gathered around him, ignoring the studying gazes of the remaining candidates. Gemma watched them come, reminding Raiden of Kakashi, though more bored than lazy. When they were circled around him, he held out one hand. A moment later, a scroll with brown edges materialized in his open hand. "Earth," he commented, almost seeming surprised. "Good luck, rookies, you're going to need it, up against some of these crews. Don't get dead, I have to listen to Anko whine about what hard work you are, I don't need her complaining about 'emotional scarring' as well."

Raiden shook his head, "I'm too busy to die, Jounin."

"Everyone's too busy to die, kid."

"We're not everyone," Yohko answered, taking the scroll and pocketing it when Raiden did not.

Unlike the previous teams, once Yohko had secreted the scroll on herself, the three of them simply turned in place, and began strolling westward, returning the studying looks with evaluations of their own. They did not start running until they were out of sight behind a building.

------------------------------

Half an hour later, they were well into the mountains, trotting along the ground at a steady lope fit to shame any wolf. Raiden had swung north, once they were actually out of the village and into the forest. He figured any ambushes would be set on the direct route, and wanted to circle around them, if he could, and set his own traps further on. Mitsumi had point, while Yohko followed some distance behind, and Raiden followed Yohko more closely. This arrangement put their best eyes forward, and protected the scroll in the middle.

They debated the best way to get the Water scroll, and how to even determine what scroll another team had. Mitsumi had sensed the chakra in both scrolls the night before, recognizing that some sort of seal was placed on them but not what type. Unfortunately, she had not been able to tell the difference between the two, so she would not be able to tell just by looking at the teams they came across. She was also more aggressive, arguing against Raiden's plan of racing towards the tower, then setting an ambush and waiting.

Three hours into the exam, they both got their wish. Loping along, Mitsumi spotted a pattern of chakra that did not belong, and the three of them went to ground, scanning. No movement betrayed whatever Mitsumi had seen, though she had sensed it quite some distance ahead.

_Mitsumi, go check it out,_ Raiden ordered, _Yohko and I will hold here. If you're ambushed, fall back on us._

_Yeah, yeah,_ Mitsumi muttered back, vanishing into her Cloak of Light, _don't get your panties in a bunch._

Raiden shook his head at her response, but settled for telling Yohko the plan by sign. After that, there was little to do but wait, as Mitsumi crept up on whatever was up there. As her silence lengthened, however, he began to get nervous, debating whether to risk breaking her concentration by asking her for an update.

_Oh, that's tricky,_ she sent after fifteen minutes or so, _I almost didn't find him._

_Find who, 'Sune?_

She chuckled in his head before answering, _Gauln and his team._ He recognized the name, one of the 'thrown together' teams from Konoha, Genin who's original teams were no longer together and had been grouped together just for the exam. Gauln was the strongest, on his third try for Chunin, and was the obvious leader of the team. _Gauln is up a tree,_ Mitsumi continued, _in a very good spot for dropping down onto someone foolish enough to walk by on the ground. His girl teammate is _in_ a different tree, using a jutsu to conceal herself and use the tree's leaves to sense around her. The third's underground somewhere, I can't really localize him, but he's about fifty yards north-west of you, a little more north than west._

_Can you get closer, maybe steal the scroll?_

_Baaaka, I told you they're sensing. If I get much closer, the girl in the tree'll sense me, and the guy in the ground probably already has you. They're waiting for us to close up on Gauln before they ambush us._

_What about looping around them? Hammer and Anvil?_

She thought about that one for a moment, _I think so, but it'll take me a while. They may move before then, since I'm pretty sure they already know we're here. I think what I picked up first Gauln getting into position. He's not in a good spot to wait for long._

_Get moving, then. Let us know when you're in position, and we'll move in then. If they start moving after us, I'll let you know._

More waiting followed, once he had passed word to Yohko. After a few moments, he signed to Yohko, keep watch? I want to try something. He took his time to be sure he was doing things right, since he had rarely practiced with Mitsumi's vision technique, but eventually he managed to alter his vision to match hers. He had to close his own eyes, unlike Hinata, and study only the chakra patterns, but he could, just barely, make out the presence of Gauln just about where Mitsumi had seen him. It wasn't much, compared to what Mitsumi could detect, but it would give them more reliable warning if Gauln and his team moved.

Eventually, the other team did move, but not the way Raiden was expecting. Gauln, right at the edge of Raiden's range, vanished, and a moment later Mitsumi swore, _Kuso! They're after me! Backup! BACKUP!_

"Come on," Raiden ordered, leaping into a tree before checking to see if Yohko heard him or not. She was beside him a moment later, "They're chasing Mitsumi." _'Sune, can you play rabbit?_

He could sense her speed along with her response, the heart-pounding rush of adrenaline that comes from being pursued. _Sure, for a bit,_ she told him, _but I don't like running any more than you do._

_Patience, 'Sune,_ he said. Aloud, he asked Yohko, "Feather and Fire, you think? Mitsumi's rabbiting now."

"It'll probably work to get at least one of them," Yohko agreed, "You strike, I'll burn?"

"Works for me."

'Rabbiting' was Mitsumi's term for leading a chase, and it was a role both she and Raiden hated. The objective was not to escape the pursuer, but to lead them on, keep them interested, and not get caught. It was their preferred method for luring enemies into ambush, but neither Mitsumi nor Raiden were very good at it. After the mission where he was captured, Hinata said it had to do with their aggressive natures, the same nature that made it almost impossible for them to back down from a challenge. Anko preferred to call them stubborn and arrogant. Dislike or not, the current situation left Mitsumi filling the role.

It was soon apparent that Gauln had anticipated their pursuit, and disregarded it. He was aiming to take out or capture one member of their team immediately, to simplify dealing with the rest. He was taking the center position, directly behind Mitsumi, while the other two members of his team swung wide to try and circle her. What he hadn't counted on was Mitsumi's speed and agility. She was fast enough to stay out of his team's reach, shifting direction now and then to try and give Raiden and Yohko a chance to cut the corner. A few attempts to wing her with kunai and shuriken, and one revealing attempt by the girl catch Mitsumi with a vine-whip failed, giving Mitsumi openings she used to curve the course inwards again.

Finally, Raiden and Yohko closed up enough to go into action. He led off, pushing himself into a faster sprint, then threw the two kunai he had prepared. Both sailed straight and level, flashing past Gauln's head several feet too either side. He tossed four more kunai, two at each of Gauln's teammates. Less than a second behind each kunai, Yohko's bolts also sailed past the three Genin, who flinched and hesitated as the weapons passed them by.

Then the specially shaped bolts hit the kunai. The handful of short wires strung from the pommel-rings stiffened instantly, and the energy from Yohko's attack split and redirected back down the wires. Gauln's team's hesitation was almost the worst thing they could have done, as all three of them were near-stationary targets when volleys of energy leapt back at them, random and untargeted, but still dangerous and covering a wide area.

Two hit Gauln, staggering him but not taking him down. His teammate who had been underground was also staggered by his hit, rolling off his branch but landing on his feet. The girl was less fortunate, airborne no more than a yard from one of the kunai targeting her when the bolts hit, and caught all five return-bolts. She cried out once, but was unconscious before she hit the ground in an uncontrolled tumble.

Gauln and his remaining teammate were on the defensive immediately, sacrificing the altitude of the trees for the safety of watching each other's back. Raiden, for his part, was also positioned protectively, between Gauln and Yohko, while Mitsumi closed back in. Yohko, for her part, had a tree trunk between her and the stand-off, leaning against the trunk, hands on her knees and head hanging, breathing hard from the effort of throwing so many bolts so fast.

"Sorry," she whispered, "that many... bit much at once."

"No problem," Raiden reassured, "you pulled it off beautifully. Now we just need to check their scroll, and be on our way."

"Gonna find that harder to do than you think, kid," Gauln's teammate replied, and Raiden finally placed him.

"Temujin," he muttered, "a rarity in Konoha, a specialist in earth techniques. You graduated what, two years ahead of us? What makes you think we'll have a hard time dealing with you? We spotted your ambush, avoided your pursuit, and we've already taken down one of your teammates."

"She'll be fine in a bit," Temujin replied, "You won't be."

"Kodachi, Mitarashi & Iraisen," Gauln identified them, "Anko-san's wonder-kids. I hear you're good, but don't get cocky. I've been a ninja far too long to be surprised by anything you rookies can do."

Mitsumi asked, _Firecracker, you think?_

_What are you, a one-trick monkey? They'll be prepared, after yesterday,_ Raiden said, _I'm thinking Trip-Line. Gauln is the aggressive, he'll move in a moment. Trip Line will catch both of them, I think._

_Gah, that tired old kids' gag,_ Mitsumi muttered, unimpressed.

Raiden just sighed, _Whatever works._

Their thought-quick conference finished just as Gauln wound down, and Mitsumi moved instantly, fading away into invisibility. Gauln watched her vanish, eyes narrowing in suspicion, then grinned at Raiden. "Do you really think eyes are the only senses we have?"  
"No, Gauln, I know Temujin is good enough with Earth techniques to sense the vibrations of footsteps on the ground," Raiden replied, drawing a kunai as casually as he could, spinning it around one finger by the loop. The motion drew the eyes of the two shinobi behind him, not much, but enough to cover what his other hand was doing.. "Thing is, Mitsumi's kind of shy. She doesn't like having an audience."

Beside him, Yohko whispered, "I'll be good to go in another minute. Keep them busy?"

"Worry about the girl," he told her, watching as Gauln and Temujin shifted slightly. Temujin was trying to track Mitsumi, but Gauln was tenser, Raiden could almost feel the attack coming. _Any minute now,_ he warned Mitsumi.

Gauln came up off the forest floor like a rocket, left hand leading, right pulled back ready to strike. He was totally focused on Raiden, relying on Temujin to find and counter Mitsumi, fierce concentration and determination written in every line of his face. Raiden swayed back slightly, just enough to set his defense, then pulled the chakra pattern he had been building taught, stretched between two tree trunks. Gauln's stupendous leap slammed to an ignominious halt two yards short of target as he ran chest-first into a foot-wide band of chakra, the impact causing it to flare briefly into visibility.

Raiden had a brief view of Gauln's surprised face as he folded around hit, lower body rotating around it like an axle as momentum had its way. Then he released the trip line, and lunged for his own target. He and Mitsumi passed each other in flight, his angled leap taking him to one side of her vertical plunge. He felt, more than saw, the heat in her hand, and just before he reached Temujin, heard, her shout, "Fire Hammer!" The concussion rolled over him just as he hit the ground, a cloud of dust and small debris that he rode to add to his momentum ever so slightly.

Temujin may have been surprised by which member of Raiden's team he wound up fighting, but his reaction did not show it. The older Genin was forming seals before Raiden landed, and as the Guardian spun into a roundhouse kick, Temujin ducked, slamming both hands to the earth below. "Doton: Mud Prison," he intoned, and a wave of chakra swept out in all directions. The hard packed ground flashed instantly to slippery, sticky mud in a ten foot circle, sucking Raiden's foot down and throwing off his balance. He managed to regain it, but still lost the pattern of attacks he had been building.

Raiden recovered his balance, finding a shaky footing amidst the mud, to find Temujin swinging one huge fist around from down low. A sweep of his left hand put up a barrier, just enough to deflect Temujin's strike, while simultaneously giving him a little more momentum for his own punch. Again, however, the mud robbed him of his footing and accuracy, holding one foot fast while leaving the other without any hold whatsoever. Recovering again cost him his rhythm, and left him open against Temujin.

Twisting out of the way of Temujin's second punch, Raiden tried for another kick, aiming high in an attempt to throw Temujin's balance. The mud was not cooperating, however and when he went to lift his free leg clear for the kick, the one that had been held fast was suddenly sliding away. Crouched in half-splits he could not get back into stance before Temujin's third attack began.

_Switch tactics,_ he thought. Instead of deflecting Temujin's third punch, he wrapped his torso and hands in barriers, and put both hands right in front of Temujin's. The impact jarred his shoulders, but combined with the minimal leap he could manage from his position, lifted Raiden clear of the muck and threw him several yards. Rolling with it, Raiden managed to land on his feet, hands already moving to shape his chakra anew.

To one side, while he was dealing with Temujin, he caught flashes of movement, and Mitsumi's excited thrill as she battled Gauln. The older Genin was apparently getting frustrated by her style, a never-ending series of feints and fades, mixed in with fast, sharp strikes. Raiden had gotten annoyed with her for that on more than one occasion, but felt rather unsympathetic for Gauln.

Finishing the technique he needed in a second, Raiden charged. Temujin met him half way, moving in a steady, deliberate way that was reminiscent of, but eerily different from, Kuma's style. If he had noticed earlier, it might have been the edge he needed, but now it was immaterial. As Temujin swung forward, a massive straight punch that would no doubt have broken bones, Raiden altered the direction of his charge, sliding sideways outside the punch. He twisted away from Temujin momentarily, then snapped back around, left hand slamming into the larger shinobi's side, just above his kidney, as he tried to draw back from his attack. A second later, Raiden's other hand slammed into his stomach, and the chakra wrapped around both hands slammed into his body in a wild, uncontrolled burst of energy.

Either strike, on a purely physical level, was hard enough to throw Temujin back to where he started, combined they slammed him into the tree he and Gauln had been using for defense. The burst of chakra was the closest Raiden could come to Jyuuken, like a blunt mace compared to the Hyuuga style's knife, but more than enough to leave Temujin curled up on the ground vomiting uncontrollably. He wasn't in any condition to resist as Raiden tied him up with a coil of wire, leaving him face-down beside the tree.

Turning, back to his sisters, Raiden found the situation well in hand. The girl, who's name he still could not recall, was tied up in Yohko's wire, toes tied to thumbs behind her back in a simple but effective and painful bind. Gauln, in contrast, was unbound, and still standing, but breathing hard and covered with burns. The shirt he had been wearing was gone, nothing but a ring of charred cloth around his waist, and his torso was one massive red burn mark. There was no sign of Mitsumi, but Gauln was twitching, jerking around from one facing to another, trying to anticipate her next attack.

"You can stop now, Gauln," Raiden said, matching it with an order, _Hold off a second, 'Sune._

_'K,_ she replied instantly,_ He's a fun one, took two Fire Hammers like a champ._

_Only you would enjoy setting your own hands on fire,_ Raiden quipped. "Your teammates are down, and we are not. If you continue fighting, we'll take you down as well, and leave the lot of you tied up and helpless. Hand over your scroll, and we'll leave you untied. You can free your teammates, and try to get two scrolls from other teams."

Gauln shifted to glare at him, taking in his two bound comrades. For a moment, Raiden thought he would refuse. Then Yohko spoke up, "Got it already, Raiden. The girl had it."

Raiden looked at her, and she waved the scroll at him. He grimaced, noting the brown edges, then nodded. Yohko pocketed the scroll, then leapt to a tree. Raiden turned back to Gauln, "Good luck, shinobi. You're going to need it."

Gauln continued to glare at him for a minute, then shook his head, relaxing out of stance. "You will, too, rookie. Word of advice, avoid the Hyuuga. She's got it in for you, probably 'cause of her sister."

Raiden just chuckled, "Yeah, Hinata warned us. So does pretty much everyone. Catch you 'round, Shinobi." He leapt into a tree, heading west again, leaving Gauln to free his teammates.

------------------------------

Gauln started with Temujin, since he was at least conscious. He had just managed to free his teammate from the wire when he heard a rustling behind him. Whipping around, kunai in hand, he found another shinobi, alone, already untying Kirie. "Who are you," he demanded, trying to ignore the fact that he was in no way ready for another fight.

"I'm not gonna hurt ya. I just wanna talk for a bit, see what's up." He was tall, long and wiry, with short dark hair, lightly tanned skin, and an easy smile that stopped just short of his eyes. The shorts and shirt he was wearing were rugged, but worn, as were the multitude of kunai and shuriken holsters on his legs, arms and chest. A Sand forehead protector was tied around his left upper arm.

"Who are you?"

The stranger sighed, shaking his head, "Fine, fine. Name's Shotaro. I'm an observer, keeping an eye on the exam out here. It's something new, since a couple years ago. Will you relax already? I just wanted to ask your opinion of those kids."

Gauln could tell something was wrong with the man, something not right. He had heard that teams of Jounin would be prowling the woods, not getting involved, but keeping an eye on things. They were standard procedure, after what happened four years ago. But they were not supposed to interact with the candidates at all, not even supposed to let themselves be seen. "You're not an observer, Shotaro, and I'm not about to discuss a Konoha shinobi with a foreigner, anyhow."

Shotaro sighed again, and vanished. Moment later, Gauln felt a sharp concussion on his neck, then nothing at all.

"I thought you weren't going to hurt him," Kisame rumbled from overhead.

Standing at Gauln's feet, Tetsuo looked up at his partner and smiled, the expression finally reaching his eyes. "I never said anything about not killing him. You know as well as I do that a broken neck, if done properly, causes instantaneous death with no pain whatsoever. So, I didn't hurt him."

Kisame smiled as well, a vicious expression, "You're insane, Tetsuo. What about the other two."

"Girls already dead, a little touch of my favorite spices and she's off to her reward. As for the last," he paused, then waved airily in Temujin's direction. "Have at him, Fish-face. Just remember, leave no trace."

"Sure you don't want to question him?"

"Nah, the only one who really knew what he was doing was the scorched one, here," Testsuo commented, indicating Gauln's body. "The other two weren't experienced enough to evaluate those kids. I think we're just going to have to watch, wait, and see if we get lucky. Hope Aku and Nori are having more luck. Did you see that girl's hands? That fire technique was pretty cute, bet it hurt like hell..." He continued talking, as he pulled his black cloak and straw hat from their hiding places, donning the costume of his chosen allegiance, before setting off in pursuit of his quarry.

------------------------------

The Muses TK & ZV: Yeah, infrequent updates equals few reviews. Plus, I think the summary (and focus on non-canon characters) throws people, but I haven't come up with anything better yet. Oh well, c'est la vie, I'm having fun, and you seem to be, so… As for the exam following the 'canon track' – All the explanation around the first Chunin exam in the series says that it's a major, regular _diplomatic_ event, which in the real world tend to be tightly bound by traditions and procedures. Also, during the Yakuza temple race, right before Sasuke's betrayal, Morino Ibiki's younger brother references the exam, and his description, as far as it goes, tracks with the _first_ Chunin exam very closely. Following canon also simplifies planning & outlining (which is a good thing, when the story keeps making itself more complicated). Juubei's team left for a couple of reasons, some of which Juubei stated, some of which are hinted at above, and all of which should be detailed in the next couple of chapters. Thanks for the continued attention and compliments, as always they're much appreciated.

K – I know, you reviewed chapter nine, but this is the next chapter up. Glad to hear you've enjoyed the story so far, hope you continue to. As for their flaws, I'm not getting them detailed quite the way I keep envisioning them (they're getting mixed up in my head), but I'm getting closer. You should see some more of both problems & powers as the exam moves along, though.


	17. 16 People & Personalities

**Rise of the Guardians**

By Daishi Prime

- 16 – People & Personalities -

Hinata paused in her jog, catching herself against a tree. Juubei and Rumiko landed on the same tree, while Kuma settled to the far side of the tree's trunk. Looking across the clearing, scanning the distant line of trees, Hinata noted the bent branches and leaves on one bush, sign of a human's passage. "See it?"

"Yeah, obvious mark," Juubei muttered.

After a second, she forced herself to ask, "Think it's a trap?" After so long working with Raiden and Mitsumi, it felt a little strange to her to be _talking _to her teammates.

"Probably," Kuma replied.

Hinata took a moment to consider the situation. They had been on the move since dawn, leaving the Dojo at the same time as Raiden's team. Anko and Kakashi had been gone since about midnight, disappearing over the wall into the forest to play their role in the exercise. Kakashi had thought this up, when the Hokage told him there were no missions available, to keep his team busy while waiting to find out the results of the second round of the Chunin Exam. He and Anko were to play the role of saboteur ninja, trying to get into Konoha. Juubei's team was supposed to track them down as quickly as possible. To keep the three Guardians from temptation, the exercise had been limited to the forests within a few miles of Konoha, and below the cliffs.

Hinata had decided that morning, at the last minute, to join Juubei's team. Due to the link, she spent most of her time with Raiden's team, and wanted now to take advantage of the enforced separation to get to know Juubei's team a little better. The differences between how these three treated her and the others was pronounced, and had intrigued her all day, so far. Raiden and Mitsumi habitually treated her as another Guardian, ignoring her greater rank for the most part, and Yohko took her queue from them. Juubei, Rumiko and Kuma, however, still seemed to see her more as 'sensei' than as fellow, and she had to be very careful with how she phrased suggestions. With Raiden, it would have been just that – a suggestion. Juubei, however, had proven far too quick to take them as orders.

Now, as the sun was passing zenith, faced a quandary. She doubted, seriously, that they would be able to pick up Kakashi's and Anko's trail. To this point, they had found a series of widely separated clues, including a dead camp fire, all of them obvious if separate. This latest sign, a leaf twisted so its lighter underside was up and exposed to the sun, was making her suspicious. The Jounin were making this too easy, and she knew something was up.

After a few moments, she asked, "Who wants to trip it?"

"Shouldn't bother," Juubei countered. "Let's just go around it. It's sure sign that they're in the area."

"We already know they're in the area, Juubei," Hinata reminded him, "That's why we're out here."

She heard him sigh heavily, and could not help smiling at how much like his sister he sounded. "I know that, Hinata. I meant the _immediate _area. They're leaving traps to throw off the pursuit. If we stay to clean this one up, we'll risk loosing them."

"But if they left it, they'll watch it," Hinata argued, "waiting for one of us to get caught in it."

Rumiko made a slight noise, and a moment later Juubei relayed, "Rumiko thinks that, if they were here, they're already watching us. So again, why trip it? They'll expect that, and wait for us to move on."

"So you think they'll watch where we'll go, and head somewhere else?"

"Yeah, probably."

"What's to stop them from doing that anyhow?"

"Nothing, 'cept they won't know what direction we headed. They'll have to be sure of that before they double-back."

Kuma interrupted her thoughts, "What if they separate?"

Juubei shifted, "What, one of them laying a false trail, the other heading back towards Konoha?"

The largest Guardian nodded, "Sure."

"They are both lone-wolves," Juubei agreed.

"No, they won't separate," Hinata said, considering both Jounin. "Their solitary reputations are too well known, and they rely on them."

"What do you mean?"

"Think about what both of them tested you for, when you took your Genin exams. While you're doing that, I'm going to set off that trap. Watch for anyone observing."

"Hey, wait a second," he was more hissing than speaking, but she ignored him, gliding around the clearing in a low crouch, disturbing the surrounding bushes no more than the light breeze. She reached the bent leaf, and paused for a moment, every sense stretching into the surrounding woods, questing for any sign of another shinobi. Even Mitsumi's technique revealed nothing, however, so after a moment, she ghosted through the opening and into the clearing.

She felt the wire shift as her foot touched it, and leapt up and to one side, catching the nearest tree with a line of chakra and pulling on it to alter her line of travel mid-flight. Most traps functioned laterally, in her experience, either striking sideways through the space the trigger occupied, or coming down on it from above. Moving as she did, especially changing direction that suddenly, was the best way to escape a trap, she had found, and it served her well here as two thin branches whipped down, the shuriken lacing the last foot or so of each lashing the ground where she had been standing.

She landed in the tree, kunai in hand, tense and wary. She scanned around herself again, searching for any sign, and again found nothing. A moment later, she flashed a sign across the clearing, and Juubei's team melted around it to join her. Kuma appeared to be mildly amused, Rumiko much the same, but Juubei was outright glaring at her. "No sign of them," he muttered once he was close enough.

Something else, Rumiko signed, picking up one of the branches to examine the shuriken, some_one_ else. These aren't Sensei's.

Juubei picked up the other half of the trap, examining the weapons curiously. Each shuriken, instead of four straight points, had three curved ones. He shook his head, "Anko, maybe?"

"No," Hinata disagreed, looking over his shoulder with narrowed eyes, "those aren't Anko's."

"Someone else is out here, then," Juubei said, "This trap hasn't been here more than a few hours. We'll have to be more careful, don't want to stumble on someone more violently inclined than Anko."

"Give them to me, Juubei," Hinata said, "I'll ask around when we get back to the village, see who makes them. If no one in Konoha does, we'll need to come back out here."

"Think we might have real interlopers?"

"There are always 'interlopers'," Hinata reminded him, "especially with a Chunin Exam going on. But most of them are just observers, watching. This trap, though... that's not something an observer would leave behind."

The four of them moved out moments later, Juubei leading, followed by Mitsumi and Hinata side by side, while Kuma took the rear, heading south, the last direction they had been able to confirm their teachers were moving. Sasuke waited until the quartet of shinobi was gone from sight before rising from where he had lain in the center of the clearing, letting the grass-woven mat fall from his shoulders. He stared after them for a few more moments, then grunted. "So, Urashima was right. Suppress your chakra, and they're just as easy to fool as any Genin. I would have expected better from Hinata, though."

"And gotten it," she replied, fading into view between him and the forest.

He blinked and flinched, he could not help himself, though he did manage to keep both reactions slight. There was nothing for her to hide behind where she was standing, no bush, no tree, no nothing, just a few blades of short grass. "Hinata."

"Sasuke." She held up her left hand, fanning several shuriken from the trap. "Distinctive weapons, Sasuke, patterned on the formation of your sharingan, ne?"

"It's called a signature, Hinata," He grumbled back, holding out a hand for the weapons.

She quirked an eyebrow, and folded the small metal disks back into her hand, slipping them into a pocket. "You'll get them back after class, Uchiha-kun," in a chiding tone she had learned from Iruka-sensei when she started teaching at the Academy. His eyebrow twitched, but he showed no other reaction. Reverting to normal, she asked, "What are you doing out here?"

"Patrol," he replied shortly, "it's one of those responsibility things us Chunin are supposed to fulfill, remember?"

Hinata's eyes narrowed slightly at that, but she did not rise to the bait. "Patrols are supposed to be further out than this, ne? Even if not, you aren't supposed to interfere in another shinobi's training or mission. It's rude, Sasuke, and dangerous."

"I thought you couldn't create clones," he said, demonstrating more rudeness by changing the subject. "How did you create that one that went with the others?"

"I didn't," she said, "Rumiko and Mitsumi have gotten quite good with illusions. Good enough to fool an overconfident Chunin who knows less than he thinks." He glared at her, but she did not shrink back from it. Her father had given her worse, and it took more than a look to intimidate her now. "This is another attempt to figure out what we can do, isn't it?" She shook her head sadly, "You have no idea what you're playing with, Sasuke. Even before I joined them, they were planning how to deal with my family, my entire _clan_. Not how to destroy the Hyuuga, how to fix us. They were good plans, too, given what they knew, which was enough to horrify my father, or would be if I told him."

One black eyebrow quirked up, and he snorted, possibly in amusement, "So, they're even more arrogant than I thought. What makes them think they can decide what to do with one of Konoha's noble houses? Kodachi think he's going to be Hokage, or something?"

"No," Hinata said, "but it's no concern of yours what they think they're going to do. Except for this – your continued obsession with finding out our secrets is doing nothing but convince us that you're dangerous. They never accepted the Hokage's explanation of your time with Orochimaru, and neither do I anymore. Which gives your persistent attempts to discover our secrets a rather sinister edge, traitor." He jerked back as if she had slapped him, but she kept on before he could speak. "We have plans for my clan, Sasuke. We have plans for you, too, some of them fatal. Mitsumi already hates you and wants to blind you. Raiden despises you, but he's better at controlling it, hiding it, since you _might _be more useful than dangerous to Konoha . The others dislike you, especially after your stunt the other day with the medical exams. Juubei wants to kill you for that alone."

Sasuke's glare returned full force, "That's another thing, Hinata. I'm not going to claim we were friends, but you were always the nice girl, the quiet one. When did you take to threatening your peers? Oh, wait, that would be right after you let these gaki put an unknown and untried seal on you. What did it do to you to change you this much?"

She just looked at him for a moment, frustrated by his obstinacy, "I'm not threatening you, Sasuke, I'm warning you. Keep pushing us, keep digging into our secrets, and the seven of us will act. You don't want to find out what seven Guardians can do to you, Sasuke, because as strong as you are, curse seal and all, you can't stand up to all of us."

He smirked, "So I'll just have to be sure and remove one of you at a time, ne?"

She shook her head, "You don't know us well enough to do it. You don't know me well enough, anymore. Try, if you like. Whoever you ambush will escape, and after that we will come for you. Unlike Orochimaru, we won't stop at cursing you."

She turned to leave, outline blurring as she wrapped herself in another Cloak of Light. His next question stopped her, "What did the blind one mean, Hinata? About Orochimaru?" She paused, then turned back to him, a quizzical look on her face. "During my 'stunt', she said something. 'Orochimaru's immortal. He won't die until Death itself comes for him.' What did she mean?"

Hinata debated for a moment, rifling through the borrowed memories of Raiden and Mitsumi. She had a general notion, but wasn't sure she should tell Sasuke. "Why are you worried? You saw Naruto kill him, right?"

It was Sasuke's turn to shake his head. "Lot of people around that day, lot of shinobi, most of whom couldn't be accounted for after the battle. There's some evidence that the snake may still be alive, things anyone who's worked for him would notice. Certain shinobi have been seen places they have no business being, doing things they wouldn't do on their own. Rumors of strange events, strange creatures. If these kids know something, Konoha needs to know. Having him loose is bad enough, having him loose without warning that he's plotting... that'll make what happened four years ago look like a picnic."

Still she hesitated, then sighed. Raiden was not going to be happy with her, but Sasuke was right. "It's something Yohko said, before her Seal was released. She said a lot of things, actually, and what could be verified has proven true. In this case," She closed her eyes, concentrating for a moment to be sure she got it correct, "'The Serpent Lord shall slither away, free from curse and bind, time after time, others paying the wages of his sin, to fuel his life. He shall despoil all he touches through time immemorial, unless Death strides forth unto the Middle Kingdom, to claim his soul entire.' Raiden and the rest take 'the Serpent Lord' to mean Orochimaru. It sounds enough like him, and he did escape the Third Hokage's final curse and binding."

To her surprise, he didn't scoff. "I didn't know Iraisen is a prophet."

"She isn't," Hinata said, "prophecy requires the foretelling of the future. Yohko just stated a few facts, no predictions."

"Why haven't you told the Hokage?"

"There is no proof, and she is not exactly happy with us at the best of times. If we started spreading rumors about the worst traitor this village has ever seen still living, she would be rather less happy, ne?" She looked at him for a moment, "What are you going to do now, Uchiha? Run off to hunt him down? If so, would you kill him, or join him again? He can, after all, give you a great deal of power."

Sasuke's mouth twisted, "I'm not interested in power anymore, girl. Reach for too much, you get burned. I'm also not his agent in Konoha. But I've got a feeling one of your kids may be. I'm not backing off, Hinata, not until I'm certain."

"I warned you, Sasuke. Gave you more than any of the others would, and I'm giving you a chance to prove us wrong. But if you push... things will be as they will be."

This time, she did fade out completely, disappearing. Even when he activated his sharingan, he could not see a trace of her. Cursing softly, he leapt into the trees, heading for in pursuit.

------------------------------

The clouds rolled past shortly after sunset, leaving Konoha bare to the light of moon and star. The extra light was a boon to the Chunin candidates, simplifying the problems of night-time operations, but most of them took the opportunity provided by nightfall to find a safe place to hole up. However skilled a shinobi, moving through even familiar territory, with known hostiles about, is dangerous, and there was plenty of time before the second round of the exam ended.

Midnight found Yohko and Raiden standing as high up in neighboring trees as they could comfortably reach. Silent, motionless, they waited. Standing on a branch, Yohko kept watch, scanning below and around with paranoid caution. Raiden, in contrast, was straddling his branch, leaning back against the tree trunk, head hanging, eyes closed.

He remained in that position for almost an hour, long enough to worry Yohko, before finally stirring. His head came up and he shook it roughly, scrubbing at his eyes. "She's coming back," he whispered, "a couple minutes."

"Did she get it?"

"She got something," he confirmed. "Idiots, leaving one sentry on a night like this."

Yohko smiled into the darkness, continuing her scan of their surroundings, "I doubt even two would help, against Mitsumi."

"True," he agreed, shifting to crouch on his branch, instead of straddling it. "Which is why all three of them should have been awake and wary."

Yohko nodded, then said, "this feels like cheating, you know?"

Raiden glanced at her in surprise, completely missing what she meant. "What?"

"This," she waved in the general direction Mitsumi had gone, "it feels like cheating. We are supposed to fight each other, are we not?"

"The mission order says to get to the Tower with at least one of each scroll. Doesn't say anything about how we get them. That's why Gauln's team is still in the exam, they can always try to get two scrolls from other teams."

"Yes, but the intent is to match up our skills at... oh, fine, I see the point, it is just... Tradition says you get the scroll by _defeating _the other team, not by robbing them."

Raiden considered what she said for a moment, touching Mitsumi's mind briefly to make sure she was still on her way back. "Look at it this way, Yohko. Kakashi and Anko want this to be a 'learning experience' for us, right? What did we learn from fighting Gauln?"

"That I should not throw that many bolts at once."

He chuckled a little, "No, baka. We learned that shinobi who aren't as solid a team as we are, and who aren't aware of our capabilities, can't stand against us in combat."

"Which is your long-winded way of saying we learned nothing."

"Right," he nodded, "but this... I get to practice being patient, you get practice at keeping watch at night, Mitsumi gets to practice doing something with Cloak of Light _other _than just being invisible. Besides, like Hinata said after that Dashani mission... why risk getting hurt, when we know there's still one more round of the exam to go?"

"Hai, hai," Yohko agreed after a moment, "I did not say we should not do it, just that it feels like cheating.

A few minutes passed in silence, then the branch Raiden was crouched on shivered. "Welcome back, 'Sune," he said.

She faded into view, less than a foot away from him, pouting. "That's no fair, aho. How can I surprise you anymore if you keep watching me through the link?" Raiden just quirked an eyebrow. A moment later, she sighed heavily, and pulled something out of her jacket, tossing it sideways to Yohko. "There, one scroll, stolen from sleeping babes by Konoha's Sneakiest Kunoichi."

"Please do not try alliteration, 'Sune," Yohko said, catching the scroll before it could hit something and make noise, "stick to the dirty jokes."

Mitsumi stuck her tongue out, dropping to sit on the branch and kick her legs, "it was easy, easier than getting things from you guys. Neither of the two sleeping was wrapped up at all, both of them had left their packs off, no fire to speak of. The idiot on sentry kept looking out, never checked over his teammates, just kept walking back and forth in front of the hollow they're in. I crawled down the cliff face over the hollow, got in between the two sleepers, and spent a leisurely minute looking for things of interest."

It had been more difficult than that, Raiden knew, but Mitsumi liked to exaggerate how easy things were. She had been gone for more than two hours, and the team of Waterfall shinobi were less than a hundred yards from where he and Yohko had waited. Her 'leisurely minute' had been closer to an hour of careful movements and long frozen pauses, and the only thing she had spent any interest in was the scroll. Aloud, he asked, "Is it the right one, though?"

"Tche, how should I know? Blind girl here, remember?"

"I was talking to Yohko."

"I think it is," Yohko said, inspecting the colored bands on the ends of the scroll. "Hard to tell by moonlight, though. I will check it again a little after dawn, make sure."

"Let's get out of here, then," Raiden said, "I don't want to be around when they realize they've been robbed."

Mitsumi giggled, "Won't, not for a while, 'less they're more paranoid than they're acting. I borrowed one of Yohko's blanks, left it in place of the exam scroll. 'Bout the same weight, same size. Unless they dig it out and look at it, they won't notice until someone kicks their ass and takes it."

Even Raiden had to chuckle at that. He thought they would notice sooner, but it was the sort of trick one had to expect from Mitsumi.

"Let's be somewhere else, anyhow."

------------------------------

Nori always liked the dawn. It was a beautiful time – dark of night giving way to soft light, everything covered in mist and shifting shadow, the waking birds and soft wind the only sounds. This one was somewhat marred, however, and not just because of the unpleasant sense of wrongness emanating from her partner. The four shinobi traveling through Konoha's woods were small with distance, but they had passed through this area minutes before, disturbing the natural order she so enjoyed. She scowled slightly at the retreating figures, though they had no notion she was there.

"Thought you were a morning person, Nori." Aku's voice was a deep rumble at odds with his slight, wiry appearance, like sharp stones grinding. It grated on her nerves, but she ignored that with the ease of long practice.

"I do not understand why they are moving this early. They barely stopped last night, they are close to their prey, why rush now?"

"Tche, they're kids, impatient to show off."

"Do you think they know how close the Master's Apprentice is? The Chunin spoke to him yesterday, you said."

"Dunno," Aku rumbled, "don't care. Let's get moving. We'll loose them soon if we don't."

"In a minute," Nori said, "we can track them easily, and I need a moment to prepare something."

Aku glared at her. He did not care for being contradicted, though he was not quite strong enough to overrule her. The Master chose well when he chose Aku and Nori to be partners, balancing the strengths of his most independent followers so they spent more time watching each other than watching him. Even knowing that she was being manipulated did not help Nori avoid it, as she was quite convinced Aku wanted nothing more than to kill everyone around him.

Ignoring Aku's glare, she pulled out a small scroll, brush, and ink pot. A few moments of precise calligraphy later, and she poured chakra into the seal. The characters floated off the page, and up her arm, vanishing beneath the sleeve of the black cloak covered in red clouds. Putting away her tools, she stood and shook the cloak back into place. "Now we can go. And watch for the Apprentice. He will not react well to our presence."

They pursued for a few hours, as the sun rose higher in the sky, keeping a long distance from their quarry, careful to remain unobserved. Several times, they had to break off and re-start, as their master's apprentice came too close, but he was as focused on his prey as the Genin on theirs. Avoiding him was complicated, but easy with common methods.

Aku, predictably, tried to argue against what Nori was planning. "Master said to leave no sign."

"You know very well that my techniques leave no trace," Nori countered, "and you are just as eager for this information as I am."

"Like they're not going to notice when one of them keels over with a crippling migraine."

"I will take the Chunin," she said reassuringly, "a girl that young will not be strong enough to resist me, and no Genin will question a Chunin. A few suggestions, while I gather the information, and she won't even remember _having _a headache." She finished in a deeply patronizing tone, "I _have_ done this before, you know."

"They aren't normal Genin," Aku countered, mimicking her tone, "That would be why we're here."

She just grunted, "And this is the quickest, surest, way to get the information we need."

Finally, he acceded, "Fine, when are you going to do this, so I can be sure to be somewhere else?"

"The next time they stop. I will have to get fairly close," she reminded him. Not dangerously so, of course, but closer than Aku would have preferred. They had yet to come within half a mile of their quarry, despite following them from Konoha's walls. From their pattern so far, the quartet would pause briefly every hour or so, probably checking the surrounding area somehow, and Nori intended to strike the next time they did so.

Soon enough, they did stop, and this time Nori and Aku closed the range, her hands flashing through the seals as quickly as she could. She found a comfortable spot and, just as they were about to start moving again, struck, centering the figure of Hyuuga Hinata between her flattened, vertical hands.

There was a moment of vertigo, a sensation of falling forward faster than a striking peregrine, then the jolt of contact. The first had always been the hardest for her to deal with, that sense of uncontrolled plummeting, but she was used to it now, and rode it out with ease. When the disorientation cleared, not even a second after she formed the last seal, she smiled. The technique she used was uncommon, but quite well known, mostly because it was nearly impossible to resist, and even harder to detect. All her training, all her skills, had been focused on this technique, and her mastery of it was why the Master selected her for the reborn Akatsuki.

She was standing on a bridge of soft blue light, staring into an infinite space of sparks, large and small, connected by more bridges. The inside of a human mind, one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen, the more so since from here, she could control it and peruse it at will. Chuckling softly to herself, she turned and started walking along the bridge, heading for the first memory, from which she could find everything the Master wanted to know.

Things went wrong at her third step. Between that step and the fourth, the glorious mental structure around her vanished, replaced with a blinding white nothing. The abruptness, and the utter lack of any differentiation threw her, robbing her of reference, of up and down. She could not even see what she was standing on, though it felt solid beneath her feet. It was the first time her technique had failed her in years, and never had it done so in this manner.

"A... ano? I... I don' think y... you should be here."

Whirling around, when there is no distinct point to reference 'around' to, is severely disorienting, and she went to one knee, almost falling over completely. Standing behind her, wavering with the vertigo caused by her sudden move, were three kids, only one of which was recognizable.

The closest was a girl, crouched down but long and lanky, elbows resting on her knees, short red hair floating loose about her face, which was dominated by a predatory grin. Standing a short distance behind her and to one side was a young man, thoroughly average in build with long silver hair held back in a single braid, his face was completely flat, reminding her terribly of her one unfortunate meeting with Uchiha Itachi. Finally, half hidden behind him was a second girl, looking like a younger version of the Chunin who's mind Nori had invaded. Her purple hair was very short, her face pensive and frightened, and she was clinging to the boy's arm with one hand, the other holding a kunai defensively. All three had weird all-black eyes that made it impossible for her to tell exactly what they were looking at.

"You're right, Hinata," the girl farthest forward said, "ugly hag like her shouldn't be prowling around in our head." Nori felt a chill of fear at that. The strongest tenant her teacher had drilled into her from day one was never to enter the mind of a madman, lest their madness infect her.

The boy spoke up, "What do you think we should do with her, Hinata?"

"Dunno," the closer girl replied, "this technique she's using, she's got herself pretty well protected against anything we could do to kill her."

"A... ano?" The purple-haired girl in back seemed reluctant to voice an opinion, but the other two waited patiently for her to say, "W... what about h... holding her? J... Juubei and the others should find her... soon."

The boy shook his head, "Don't know about that, Hinata. We're unconscious right now, or next best thing to. Can't really tell him why, so he's probably pitching a fit trying to figure it out."

"B... but Hinata, Juubei is a... almost as p... paranoid as..."

"Yeah, but he's a worrier," the girl up front countered, "he'll act first to get everyone to safety, _then _to find out what caused the problem."

Nori was having a hard time following the weird conversation, but tried to cut them off by snarling, "My partner won't leave me here for long, gaki. I'll cut your throats when..."

"I've got an idea," the boy said, the first expression appearing on his face, "Why don't we show her what she came in here looking for?" Vicious anticipation, a look frighteningly like the Master's, when he was about to do something particularly sadistic.

"Oooh, I like that, Hinata," the closer girl agreed, chuckling.

"H... hai," the timid one said after a moment.

The light grew brighter, and the boy remarked, "Ironic, in a way, showing this to an Akatsuki member. We'll show you a real 'dawn'." Nori could not stop herself from screaming as the light reached agonizing intensity, even as she threw all her skill and chakra into breaking a connection she could no longer sense.

------------------------------

Raiden froze in mid leap, recovering just in time to stop from slamming face-first into a tree-trunk. He stabilized himself, spinning around to look back east. _Did you feel that, Mitsumi?_

Yohko came to rest in the same tree, giving him a searching look. A few trees forward, Mitsumi also stopped, turning back as well. _Yeah, I think. What was it? Hinata?_

_I think so,_ Raiden replied, searching back through the link for Hinata. He found her, but she was still blocking the link, as she had been since the second part of the Chunin exam began.

"Raiden?"

"Sorry, Yohko," he apologized, "Just felt something strange from Hinata." mentally, he asked, _Mitsumi, you're blocked as well?_

Yohko leaned in closer, "What was it?"

_Yeah, she's blocking both of us,_ Mitsumi answered.

He snorted once, "Dunno. She's blocking us."

"Was it major? Think it was important enough to break off?"

Raiden shook his head, "I don't know. There was a... flash of... something, then the block was back, same as it has been since sunrise yesterday."

Mitsumi landed in the tree a few branches higher. "Seal hasn't been triggered, no one's trying to recall us."

After a moment, Raiden shook his head, "Whatever it is, I don't think it's serious enough to recall us. Juubei and the others can handle it, whatever it is. If they trigger the Seal, we'll break off, but for now, we're almost to the tower. Let's keep moving."

They had seen the tower less than an hour before, as they crossed the last pass into the valley leading to it. The tower itself marked the outermost edge of Konoha's territory in these mountains, the area Konoha ruled in place of the Fire Nation's more usual authorities. The valley was several kilometers long, however, and they were being as cautious as possible, given that every other team was converging on the same place. They had passed two fights, and avoided another pair of ambushes that day alone, and since sunrise, when Yohko had confirmed that they had both scrolls, none of them felt like taking a risk just to move a little faster.

"How cruel do we want to be," Yohko asked him a short while later, as they skirted another probable ambush Mitsumi had detected.

"What do you mean," Raiden asked, attention more on his surroundings than Yohko's question.

"We have until sunset tomorrow to reach the tower, ne?"

"Yeah, maybe dawn the next day, depending on how you interpret the mission orders."

"I have been thinking about what you said, about our fight with Gauln's team. Well, we have already eliminated one team from the next round, just by getting the Water scroll, and two more by keeping the second Earth scroll – both the team that was carrying it, and whatever team will not now be able to get a match for their Water scroll, right?"

"I'd argue the second team from that pair," Raiden said, "they'd've been eliminated anyhow."

"Concede the point," Yohko said, her way of dismissing an argument as immaterial to the conversation. "Would it be worth the risk to try and eliminate a few more teams? The fewer teams we have to face in the final round, the easier it should be, ne? I mean, if we are going to cheat like we did last night, and by keeping the second Earth scroll, and none of these teams are prepared enough to deal with us, why not go for broke? We can pick out the weaker teams that make it this far, those who are not true teams, and eliminate them now, when we have the advantage."

Raiden thought about it for a few minutes, debating the points of it. On the one hand, she was right that dealing with the other teams now would allow them to utilize their most proven advantage – their teamwork. It would also reduce the chances of one of their competitors finding out about the Seal and its effects, how different they were, in time for the tournament that would fulfill the last part of the exam. Countering those arguments, however, were the risks. Several of the teams, the more so if they made it this far, were quite solid, and would be extremely difficult opponents. The risk of injury was great, the risk of loosing one or both scrolls greater. Then there was the probable reaction to their arrival with one extra scroll, let alone several.

"No," Raiden said, "Let's not get greedy. We're in the clear for this part of the exam, no reason to show off."

"Okay then. Straight in and relax for a day or so?"

"Yeah, hopefully."

_Problem,_ Mitsumi sent, causing Raiden to curse softly. _There's a team ahead of us, and I think you're gonna want to see this. We could avoid easily, but... close up and take a look. Lemme know if I'm right in who these kids are._

_Who does it look like,_ Raiden asked.

_Just get up here._

Raiden grumbled, but accelerated, "Mitsumi wants us to see something," he told Yohko.

When he reached her position, she was still as a stone, staring at the trio of shinobi on the ground a few hundred feet away. The three were still, not moving. One was laying on the ground, obviously injured, but still armed and keeping watch. The other two were between Mitsumi and their injured comrade, guarding him. Raiden touched down, resting a hand on Mitsumi's shoulder, and studying the trio ahead of them.

"Right, since they know we're here..."

"I haven't shown myself," Mitsumi muttered.

"Not your fault, Kitsune," he said, "Hanabi's almost as good as her sister, remember? Let's go down and say hello, shall we?"

He landed several yards from the trio, focusing their attention on him, while Mitsumi and Yohko took up positions in neighboring trees, guarding his back. He and Hanabi studied one another for a silent minute, gauging and evaluating. Finally, tired of having kunai pointed at him, Raiden held his hands out to his sides slightly. "Truce, Hyuuga. We already have both scrolls, we have no need to fight."

Her eyes narrowed into a glare, "Maybe we do, you think of that?"

Raiden smiled, "You wouldn't be this close to the tower if you didn't have both. You'd be back there," he pointed over his shoulder with one thumb, "one of the desperate fighting for a chance at round three. You also wouldn't have a teammate that badly wounded. Unless you had no scrolls, in which case you'd be even further back there."

She snarled something he couldn't hear, then relaxed, slightly. "Fine, you aren't here to fight. Move on, then. We have nothing to say to you."

Raiden tilted his head, studying her wounded teammate behind her. He appeared to have several wounds to his upper torso, and one leg was heavily splinted. "Hattori Anzai doesn't look so good, Hyuuga. With one of you carrying him, you aren't going to be very well protected when the horde of hopefuls comes through in an hour or so."

He could feel Mitsumi glaring at him all of a sudden, _Raiden, what the hell do you think you're doing?_

_Scoring some points for the long run,_ he shot back, verbally continuing, "You'll be easy prey for someone who wants to eliminate some competition before the third round."

Her glare returned, even stronger, and she tensed up again, obviously applying that line of reasoning to him. "So why aren't you attacking? Take advantage, Kodachi, eliminate some competition. I know more about what you can do than anyone outside your little cult, you should take this chance to get rid of me while you can."

He laughed, crossing his arms and kicking at a stone before leaning back against a chakra barrier, the relaxed stance an offer, the manner of it a warning. "I'm not going to eliminate you here, Hyuuga. Quite the contrary, I'd love the chance to face you in single combat. You're no where near where Hinata was before her Seal, of course, but I never did get to spar with her before she took it. I'm interested to see how the Byakugan will fare against a Guardian."

He let her digest that for a moment, then added, "I'll make you a deal. I'll give you one of our scrolls, and we'll escort your team to the tower. When we get there, you give the scroll back, then all six of us go in together. After that, you, personally, make sure to last long enough in the tournament to face one of us."

"We could use the help, Hanabi," her still standing teammate, Mori Jiro, whispered, just loud enough for Raiden to hear him.

She considered it for a while, long enough to convince Raiden she would reject it. "Fine," she spat, "you're on, Kodachi. But don't think I'll go easy on you. I owe you nothing for what you did before, or for this."

He blinked at her, then remembered the rescue. "Oh, that. No, you're clan repaid us for that mission in full, Hanabi. Yohko," he turned, gesturing to his sister, "Give her the Earth scroll you're carrying."

Yohko gave him an uncertain look, but reached into her pack and extracted a brown-bordered scroll, tossing it underhand to the Hyuuga. Hanabi caught it, and immediately passed it off to Jiro, who slipped it into his own pack. After that, the five of them stood there for a few moments, Hanabi and Jiro not quite trusting the other three, Raiden and his sisters just waiting.

"I'll carry Hattori, if you like," he offered, "just so you don't feel so threatened."

It took them longer to reach the tower than if the three of them had traveled separately, but they were not in any rush. While Hattori floated in and out of consciousness, Mori proved quite willing to converse, quietly, with Yohko and Raiden both. Hanabi and Mitsumi alternated point and rear guard, seeming to compete in who could see the furthest, when they weren't both glaring daggers at Raiden. He was tempted to point out how similarly they were acting, but let it slide in the interests of self preservation.

To say the Jounin monitors were surprised when the six of them arrived at the tower was putting it mildly. Two were standing outside the ground floor entrance, and watched the six Genin land in the cleared space around the tower. Raiden handed Hattori off to Mori, but when Hanabi went to hand back the Earth scroll, he just smiled, and waved it away, "Keep it. We had two of those." He was almost in the tower when she beaned him with it, causing him to stumble. He didn't stop chuckling, however, even as he picked it up and strolled past the Jounin, flipping the scroll with one hand.

------------------------------

Running was never pleasant, running from Genin less so. Nori did not complain, however. The failure of her mind-stealing technique was bad enough, but to have the Master's Apprentice come to their rescue was terrifying, both for what he could do and what the Master would do to them when he found out. She could not remember much of the fight, short and sharp as it was. She had been too out of it to contribute, and Aku had done nothing except get the two of them clear.

It would have been worth it, except that she had not gotten anything useable from the insane Chunin's mind. Nothing but a glaring white light that, even months later, would be all she could see. That light, the memory of it, filled her with a terrifying awe, but she had no idea why, no idea what it was, or what had been behind it.

No running was not pleasant, but it was better than what was behind them.

------------------------------

glassesforjimmy – thanks for reading, and post whatever sort of review you like. In all honesty, the lack of reviews is no bother – I never have written for anyone but me, so the fact that anyone else likes it enough to keep reading is just icing on the cake, as it were. I've got hundreds of megs of stuff I've written, but will never post (incomplete, bad writing, old, not fan-fic, etc). Any response at all is good, but if you've got gripes or suggestions, feel free. As far as combat... I can do better (and have, off FFN), but combat isn't what these chapters (or this story, for the most part) are about. The chapters are setup, primarily, and the story is me thinking about one of Naruto's biggest themes, power and its price. Chunin exam round three, now... I'm going to have to work on those chapters, but hopefully they'll live up to your hopes. I'll take a look at Yamisui's story.


	18. 17 Training & Tutors

**Rise of the Guardians**

By Daishi Prime

- 17 – Training & Tutors -

It was sunrise on the fourth day before Gemma declared the second part of the Chunin exam concluded. To allay suspicions regarding cheating, and to be sure everyone was informed of the rules for the third part at the same time, none of the candidates who made it that far were permitted to leave the tower, once they had checked in. Which rule, combined with Gemma and an ever-changing array of Jounin occupying the first floor, left Raiden, Yohko, Mitsumi, Hanabi and Jiro essentially confined to the two rooms making up the tower's second and third floors. The only exception made was for Anzai, whom Gemma had taken back to Konoha for medical attention, by one of the Jounin already at the tower.

Given the limited space, and limited company, the two nights and one day were physically boring but mentally trying. When Hinata finally let down her block on the link early on the third day, things became much more interesting, and much more frustrating. After Raiden and Mitsumi gave a brief run down of their experiences in the exam, she rather hesitantly told them of Akatsuki's appearance. Raiden was very nearly ejected from the exam, when he tried to argue his way past Gemma, but Yohko and Hinata managed to calm him down before he did something permanent.

Further calm was established when Hinata related details of both the incident, and the Hokage's response. Hinata herself remembered nothing but a sharp pain in her head and loosing track of a couple of seconds, but Juubei and Kuma had engaged a pair of unknown shinobi in Akatsuki cloaks moments later, one of whom was apparently severely disoriented. The fact that the Uchiha had shown up seconds into the fight, causing both foreigners to flee, worried Raiden, but the Uchiha could be dealt with later. The attack had been noticed by Anko and Kakashi, the later of whom had taken Juubei's team back to Konoha, while Anko pursued the two Akatsuki members with the Uchiha. Once they had gotten back to Konoha, and reported to the Hokage, Tsunade had ordered all four of the Guardians to remain within the village walls until further notice, which from the looks of things would be at least until after the Chunin exam's third round. Apparently Raiden, Yohko and Mitsumi would be placed under a similar restriction almost immediately upon their return from the tower. The appearance at the tower around noon of four more Jounin reinforced that notion.

The only saving grace was that Hanabi and Jiro elected to keep to themselves, and the two teams wordlessly divided the tower between them. Hanabi and Jiro moved up to the top floor, while Raiden and his sisters took the second. Around noon of the third day, one of the teams from the Mist Village arrived. They soon proved to have been as fortunate as Raiden's team – they presented not two scrolls, but three, the required pair and yet another extra Earth scroll. That got them some hard looks, but the three foreigners shrugged those off and headed up stairs. Accommodating them proved difficult, ratcheting up the tension in the tower for the next day.

Finally Gemma called them all back down to the first floor, looking over the eight Genin assembled before him. He had looked mildly disbelieving when the second round began, now he looked actively disappointed. "Well," he grumbled, "eight of you left. Makes the numbers even, I guess, but I really was hoping for fewer of you. Eh, you're Asuma's problem, now."

Hanabi countered, "There are nine of us, Anzai passed as well."

Gemma shifted his senbon a little, then grunted, and waved out the door. Leaning against the frame, arms crossed over his chest, Asuma rumbled an answer, "Anzai'll be walking again in a couple of weeks. It'll be a bit longer before he gets the use of his arm back, though. The Hokage's removed him from the exam for medical reasons. You want to argue with her, go ahead." He shoved off the wall, "Report to Hokage Tower twenty-six days from today. The third round of the exam will be held then. It's a tournament, against the rest of the candidates. Study your opposition, anything's fair, and the objective is to win. Mist shinobi, Hyuuga, Mori, the five of you are clear to depart. Kodachi, Iraisen, Mitarashi, Hokage-sama wants to see the three of you immediately."

------------------------------

Early the next morning, Yohko landed next to Anko on top of a wall, crouching to stabilize herself. The wall was rather higher and thinner than she was used to, over a hundred feet high and just wide enough at the top for her toes to get a grip. Anko, in contrast, was standing at her full height, hands on her hips, surveying the view below them with an anticipatory smile. Below them, the Konoha Arena spread out, a wide circular space of dirt, sparse grass, and a single scrawny tree, surrounded by towering walls. Across from where the two of them stood, three observation balconies were built atop the wall, tiered seats providing a full view of the arena below. Directly beneath them, the massive ceremonial gates stood closed, and would remain so until the tournament. Half way around the wall, and half way up, was the small opening of the contestant's observation bay.

"Take a good look," Anko told her, "This here's where you're going to spend the next month. We're going over this entire building, top to bottom. You'll know it better than the Dojo before we're done."

Yohko looked at her teacher, then back over the arena. "Are you sure about this, Anko?"

She chuckled, "You're the one who likes to study, Yohko. What're the rules regarding tournaments in this arena, specifically its boundaries?"

"The entire arena is open."

"And what defines the arena?"

Yohko blinked, a little confused for a few seconds, then started chuckling slightly, "The outside of the ring wall's base. All the balconies, the observation bay, the tops of the walls, everything. I can lure my opponent anywhere, can I not?"

"No one's ever tried it, not as far as I plan to have you do it, but it should work."

Yohko nodded, "Okay, so I can trip them up with terrain. But this is cheating, an unfair advantage, ne?"

Anko shook her head, "Nope, not really. Gaara-kun's coming, so the terrain down there will probably be different. Even if it is the same, that's not the only reason we're here. You need training."

Yohko sighed, nodding, "Yes, I know. We are going to work on my speed, ne?"

Anko regarded her charge curiously, "What makes you think that?"

"Speed is my only strength, in combat," Yohko said, "therefore, it makes sense to focus on that."

Anko laughed, shaking her head, "Wrong! You're fast enough to keep up with Mitsumi right now, who's one of the fastest in the tournament, but Hinata'll push her faster before the tournament starts. So speed is not your advantage, it's hers. No, we're going to work on getting you to use your _real _strength."

Yohko gave her a curious look. "I am confused."

"No you're not. You've just never had anyone train you in this approach. Kuma's father is good, but he's a traditional fighter. Raiden would never think of this, he's too direct, too much of a guy." Anko paused, crouching down next to Yohko's height. "You're small, Yohko, and you can't match any of your opponents' physical strength, and Mitsumi will be faster. What you have is your brain. There are very few people who are as smart as you are, Yohko, who have the ability to hold ridiculous amounts of knowledge readily to hand, and _understand _it all. You don't need to work on speed, or strength, you need to work on using your intelligence to outwit your opponent. So, part of what we are going to do is research all the other candidates. The rest of it will be spent teaching you how to _think _your way through a fight, instead reacting."

"I already think," Yohko protested, "Who do you think came up with most of the maneuvers we use?"

"You did," Anko agreed instantly, "but we're not talking strategy. You're good at using your brains to plan ahead of time, but you don't really do it _during _the fights. You tend to rely on speed and reaction, without thinking. We'll fix that. I've got some friends who'll help, later on. For now, let's start crawling over this structure and get to know it a little better."

------------------------------

Hinata looked around the clearing, considering the emptiness and quiet of shortly past dawn. The three stumps set into the ground marked one end, the river one side, and trees the other end and side. The combination created a long, wide space with plenty of room for any type of combat. Mitsumi standing next to her was quiet, looking around as well. "This will do," Hinata told her, "we'll work here."

Mitsumi looked around, glaring at the trees. _There are ANBU out there, being really obvious. _She almost seemed insulted.

_Of course_ Hinata answered her, _the Hokage does not like us being out and about unwatched. Akatsuki's attack has her deeply concerned. No one expected it, no one expected any activity out of them, let alone targeted so precisely on the seven of us._

_Yeah, yeah,_ Mitsumi grumbled,_ but they could be a little more professional about it. Anyone could see them._

_Possibly, but they are not your concern right now,_ Hinata warned, _I am_.

Mitsumi smiled, _sparring's cool. Any ideas for how to kick Raiden's ass?_

_I'm not going to spar with you, Mitsumi,_ Hinata replied, then finished verbally, "I'm going to supervise. A... friend of mine is going to spar with you."

"Friend?"

"He'll be here shortly," Hinata told her, "Why don't you let me know when he arrives?"

"Would he be the really obvious one coming towards us?" Hinata smiled anticipating her surprise. Not noticing, Mitsumi continued, "Not as bad as Raiden, but he's got a ton of..." she trailed off, and a stunned look came over her face. She stood there for a couple of seconds, gaping like a fish.

"Yes, probably," Hinata answered, "Naruto does have quite a lot of chakra."

Mitsumi turned to look at her, "You didn't. You convinced that _nutcase _to train _me_!"

"No," Hinata replied calmly, "I hired him for a mission, which mission is to be a sparring partner for you. He is the only person outside the Guardians who both has enough chakra to last against you, and can match your unpredictable approach to combat. So he will spar with you, and I will supervise. He also knows summoning techniques better than I do, and I want to work on yours."

"But he's crazy!"

Watching the blonde in question striding out of the woods, Hinata waved him over, "You, Mitsumi, are hardly one to complain of another's insanity."

Mitsumi's reply was drowned out by a shout of, "Oi! Hinata-chan! Tsunade-baa-san said you wanted to see me!" Naruto was now jogging over, and Hinata took a moment to just admire the view. Even at his most uncoordinated, he always gave her the impression of boundless energy, an impression that had further given her the idea to have him help train Mitsumi.

_Ah, Hina-chan's blushing,_ Mitsumi sent. _Want me to ask him out for you?_

Hinata twitched, then glared at Mitsumi. _Only if you want me to ask Raiden out for you. I told you, Naruto is someone else's now. Why is everyone trying to get me dates all of a sudden?_

"Ah, Hinata-chan?"

"Sorry, Naruto-kun," Hinata replied, turning to smile at him. She still had trouble doing that, he was just too damn cute, but she could manage a small one. "I, ah, actually hired you for a month o... or so. For training."

Naruto looked confused for a minute, then blinked and looked down. Mitsumi, about a foot shorter than him, was poking him in the stomach. "Ah, okay, but who's this?"

"This is Mitarashi Mitsumi," Hinata said, mentally ordering, s_top that, Kitsune. He's not a toy._

"This seal's ridiculous," Mitsumi muttered back, still examining it, "I mean, I thought _ours _was complicated, but this thing..."

Hinata sighed, "Mitsumi, you are confirming Anko's worst impressions of you."

Mitsumi finally stopped poking at a very confused Naruto, "But onee-san, he's all powerful and cute," her grin became huge, "and breakable. And you said I get to play."

Hinata shook her head, pulling Mitsumi to her side before the girl could go back to poking her friend. "I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. She gets like this once in a while, I think it's genetic. Her aunt is the same way, though her brother isn't."

Naruto put one hand behind his head, grinning, "Eh, it's cool, Hinata-chan. That name sounds familiar, now that I think about it... where have I heard it before?"

Mitsumi laughed, "Ah, you've met baa-chan. She was the moderator for your first Chunin exam, second part. I think she's been on a couple missions with you, as well. Big woman, bigger coat, ugly purple hair, unhealthy fondness for snakes..."

Naruto stared at her throughout, obviously growing more confused. Then, as the descriptors rolled of Mitsumi's tongue, his eyes grew huge and a horrified look came over his face. One shaking finger rose to point at Mitsumi, and she was grinning again when he cut her off, "Y... you're... th... the _crazy-lady's kid_!"

Hinata couldn't help flinching at his mistake, then saw the look on Mitsumi's face, and felt the waves of horror at the idea coming from her. Hinata could not help laughing at the combination. It took something particularly off-the-wall to render Mitsumi speechless, even momentarily, and this was twice in less than an hour. _I guess I picked my assistant well,_ she thought, keeping it as private as she could.

------------------------------

Raiden arrived early, from habit, curiosity, and paranoia in probably equal measures. The Hokage had ordered him to be at the Forest of Death's Gate Number One, one hour after dawn, but given no explanation beyond, "making sure you don't embarrass the village," so he arrived with the sunrise. He settled down beside the small free-standing guard-shack, scanning the area first to make sure he was alone. That done, he checked Mitsumi and Hinata again, they were awake and moving, as they had not been when he left, but he sensed none of the energy both showed when they were training. He was curious as to what the two of them would be doing later, since Hinata had been both very amused and slightly worried about her plans for his most troublesome sister. Hinata had simply refused to discuss it, however, claiming it would give him an unfair advantage.

His own concerns over who he would be training with took over at that point. Both Hinata and Anko had assured him that they had found someone 'perfect' to train him for the tournament, but refused to say who. Hinata had been concerned about it, Anko amused. The Hokage, when he spoke with her after the end of the second round, had similarly refused to identify the trainer. He knew it would not be Kakashi, since the Jounin had his own team to worry about, though a small part of him had been hoping for the Copy-nin's assistance. Mentally, as he had several times since leaving the Hokage's office, he ran down the list of probable teachers, discarding each for different reasons. Asuma was a moderator for this exam, every Hyuuga he knew would be training Hanabi, Hinata (he no longer really thought of her as a Hyuuga) had Mitsumi to deal with, Anko had Yohko, Hinata's old sensei had her new team to lead, Gai and Lee were too terrifying to be contemplated, Sakura would spend more time trying to dissect him than train him, the list went on.

He was still contemplating when the gates clanked open, and began grinding apart, apparently of their own volition. He shifted to face them, but saw the wires leading off to each side, pulling the gates open. _New teacher's a show-off, then,_ he thought to himself, keeping quiet and watching both the forest, and the village some distance behind him. Sure enough, once the gates rang against the stops, a single figure appeared between the two closest trees, still shadowed, but radiating power.

"You're early, gaki. Follow me."

Raiden glared at him for a moment, then smiled, "I would have thought Mitsumi made it clear, Uchiha – we are not your subordinates, not bound to follow your orders."

He did not move from under the trees, but Raiden thought he could feel the Uchiha's amusement, "Oh, you're right. You, as a group, are not, and Tsunade made that rather clear yesterday. You, as an individual, however, are most definitely under my command for the next twenty-five days. Apparently, all three of your sensei asked the Hokage to have me train you. I haven't decided yet if I feel honored or insulted."

Raiden shook his head, "Don't care. Training involves trust, and there's no way I will trust the likes of you."

The Uchiha laughed at that one, a short harsh sound, "Trust? What makes you think training involves trust? Do you think I ever trusted Kakashi? Orochimaru? I never trusted either of them, not really, but I learned more from either of them than from everyone… _almost _everyone else combined. Training doesn't require trust, kid, that's just one method of going about it. My way's a lot simpler – I try to kill you, you try to kill me. If you can't protect yourself, that's your failure."

Raiden shook his head, "and here I thought you'd be worried after what Hinata told you." He saw a slight twitch, and smiled, "Yes, she told us about her little conversation with you. She's right, you know, she's going a lot easier on you than the rest of us will. So why aren't you trying to reassure me, trying to get me to relax?"

The Uchiha shook his head, "Because it wouldn't work. Also, I don't give a flying leap what you kids think of me. Sound familiar? We've been over this ground, gaki, and it's boring. You don't trust me, I don't trust you. You hate me, I dislike you. You think I'm dangerous, I know you're dangerous. Does that make things clear enough?"

"So why are you willing to train me? You must be, since you're here."

The Uchiha was silent for a few seconds, then stepped fully into the light. He stared at Raiden for a few more seconds, then, "I could say something all noble sounding like, 'I never fail a mission', or 'it's my way of the ninja', but you, like any half-way practical shinobi, wouldn't believe that sort of thing. So here's a couple of _practical _reasons for you. First, it's a good chance to see for myself what you're capable of. I've gotten some interesting reports, from the Hyuugas, Kakashi, some other people, but there's nothing like direct experience to see what an enemy is capable of. Which is something for you to consider, if you're really planning on killing me, since _none _of you, not even Hinata, have ever actually fought me." Raiden caught himself almost nodding. For all their information on House Hyuuga, some of Hinata's capabilities had still been a surprise when she began training with them. Direct experience with the Uchiha would be incredibly valuable.

"Second, if Hinata told me the truth, the seven of you are some of the few people who agree with me that Orochimaru is still around, bringing the grand total to about ten. Which makes you one of the few that will fight him without having to be convinced. The better trained _you_ are, the more tools _I _have at my disposal to counter him. Added to which is our mutual interest in Akatsuki and Konoha. Again, the better trained you are, the better the tools available for my use." Those were not so pleasant to think of, but again, Raiden found himself forced to agree. While far from the only threat to Konoha, the Serpent was the most insidious and dangerous, as the Uchiha's life, and even the Guardians', demonstrated quite clearly. Akatsuki had just demonstrated that they were a direct threat to the Guardians, Raiden's family.

"Finally... I'm bored." That actually surprised Raiden, causing him to blink, which drew a fleeting sarcastic grin from , "yeah, bored. I can only fight the dobe so many times, and there aren't many missions dangerous enough or important enough for Tsunade to risk letting me outside Konoha's borders. For a lot of reasons, not the least of which is what happened a couple days ago. So, what reasons do you have for not training under me, kid? Aside from your own paranoia."

Raiden took the time to debate the points had raised, and a couple more. The Uchiha's own points surprised him with their accuracy, though the last was a backhanded confirmation that the Uchiha really had betrayed Konoha once. While he was ranked as a Chunin, Uchiha Sasuke had long ago demonstrated Jounin-level power and skill, and the Guardians had always regarded him as one of the most dangerous people in Konoha because of it. Training with him would not be easy, but there were few in Konoha as skilled, which meant Raiden had a chance to learn a lot in a very short period of time. Additionally, twenty-five days in the Forest of Death with no one else around, there would be ample opportunity to both test the Uchiha, and eliminate him if need be, and with a simple explanation the traitor had provided himself. _Life and death training means life and death risks,_ Raiden thought, deciding. "None," he said aloud, rising from his crouch to enter the gates.

The Uchiha stood there, considering him for a moment, then nodded sharply. "Follow me," he repeated, then turned and walked into the shadowed woods. Raiden followed, ignoring the gates grinding closed behind him.

------------------------------

"... so when your Apprentice joined them, we were forced to withdraw, Master. He is too strong for both of us normally, let alone when one of us was incapacitated."

Aku's rumbling voice still disturbed Nori, grating on her nerves. But she could no longer see him, making sound her only current method of tracking him, and she found not knowing exactly where he was to be more disturbing than his voice. For her part, she remained silent, on one knee, matching fist on the ground, head down. Not that she risked looking at the Master now, when all she could see was white.

Silence reigned for a few moments, before the Master spoke. "I am disssapointed, Noriko," she flinched, more at the emotion than the childs name. "I told you to leave no traccce."

She had to work to get her dry mouth to speak, "A thousand apologies, Master. The technique I used, it has never failed me before. I was certain I could..."

"Leave not traccce," the Master's sibilant voice cut her off. She fell silent, waiting for the judgment. "My Apprenticcce, he wasss ssstrong? Healthy?"

"Yes, Master," Aku responded, "very much so."

"Ssso, there is another traccce. The sssubjectsss of your sssearch, and my Apprenticcce, now know that my Akatsssuki are interesssted in them. A pity, I ssso wanted to sssurprissse them." He left them in silence for several minutes, making not the slightest noise. Rising without his permission, shifting without his permission, would get both of them killed under normal circumstances, let alone after a failure of this magnitude, so both Aku and Nori remained as perfectly still as renegade Jounin know how. "Go to the Village of Sssound, I wisssh to know how my... former sssubjectsss are fairing. Thisss time, remain unobssserved. Leave me."

"Yes Master," the two of them chorused, then rose in unison, keeping their heads bowed. They turned about, the rustle of Aku's cloak telling her where he was, and she felt a hand settle on her elbow. Whatever else he was, Aku was willing to act as her eyes in so dangerous a place. The thought of relying on someone who named himself 'evil', and tried every day to live up to that name, was enough to make her want to puke.

She took a step, and heard a strange sound over the rustling of Aku's cloak and her own. She realized that it was coming from behind her, and had just enough time to stiffen in fear before something large swept into the space next to her throat, knocking off her straw hat. Two sharp pins were rammed into her throat, and agonizing pain blossomed through her.

Through the haze, as the white became tinged with red and she felt herself falling, she heard, "You have your ordersss, Aku. Take your partner with you. Do not leave Sssound territory until I sssend for you, and sssend word if ssshe sssurvivesss. Sssend in Tetsssuo on your way out."

------------------------------

Yohko shifted testing the bindings that held her, more curious than concerned. She had been caught in similar fashion several times, over the past couple of weeks, but this time was by her own request. "Are you set, Nara-san?"

Standing a few feet away, the young Jounin shook his head, sighing, "I keep telling you, Shikamaru is fine. Yeah, I'm ready whenever you are, girl."

"You sure you want to spend time on this, Yohko?" Anko was laying on her side several yards off, lounging comfortably while she watched. "You've already proven you can fight off the Kagemane."

Yohko nodded, or at least, tried to. "Yes, Anko, I do. I am curious to see if I am correct about this, and if so, if I can apply it to techniques similar to Kagemane."

"Your time," Anko replied, smiling as she settled back.

Yohko ignored the last comment, focusing on the Kagemane. Shikamaru had been working with her for several days, spread over the two weeks since the Chunin exam's second round concluded, at Anko's request. To her surprise, he had spent more time playing go and shoji than actually training, though he had developed a most disconcerting habit of controlling her moves in both games with the Kagemane. The continued exposure, and her own investigations, gave her the idea for what she was trying now.

She could not move, more than to speak and breathe, but knew that, if she really wanted to, she could burn through the technique with brute strength. She had done that the first time he used it on her, lashing out in a panic when she found herself suddenly moving to someone else's commands. Now, however, she sent out her chakra in a carefully thought-out pattern, forming a seal within her mind and molding the chakra to it by sheer force of will. She was vaguely aware of the blue aura that appeared around her, flickering as it poured from her to a point about halfway between her and Shikamaru.

Shikamaru, for his part, stood there with his hands in his pockets, head fallen to one side. He had been practicing his patented 'bored to tears' look, but was now actually showing mild signs of interest. Yohko ignored that, too, focused entirely on her chakra and the symbol that was now forming in front of her. Seconds after she began, straining to hold the chakra together, she whispered, "Tenjin's Mirror."

The kanji character before her flashed once brightly, banishing the shadows from the arena for a scant second as all the chakra Yohko poured into it released. Then the light vanished, the seal disappearing as well. Yohko staggered, as the seal released, and did not regain her feet before the shadows reappeared, once again connecting her to Shikamaru, who was now glaring at her.

When she lunged sideways, she managed to get four steps, before staggering again. To his immense and apparent surprise, Shikamaru also lunged four steps sideways, in exact unison with her, before fighting back against the technique. For a few moments, the two of them struggled for control, Shikamaru's hands flashing through the seals for his Kagemane while Yohko simply poured chakra into the seal she had created. Soon enough, however, Shikamaru regained the upper hand, resuming control of the situation, binding her in shadows once again. He reached up to scratch his forehead, and Yohko found herself ignominiously copying him, but could not help smiling at him, despite panting for breath. That had been difficult, not as hard as six simultaneous bolts, but still, she had burned a lot of her chakra for one technique.

"That was weird," he said after a moment.

"I'll say," Anko agreed, not having moved in the least, "what was that, Yohko?"

"Felt like you took over my jutsu," Shikamaru complained, letting the Kagemane drop.

Shaking her arms to get used to controlling them again, Yohko shook her head, "No, I did not take control of it. I... think... I reflected it back on you, created a reflection of your technique. Since we were both using the same technique, whoever was stronger and better prepared had the advantage. At first, that was me, since you had no idea what was going on, but then it came down to a contest of wills, to see who could overpower the other's technique."

Shikamaru nodded slightly, "and since Kagemane's my technique, I know it better than you, and was thus able to regain control. I can see how that would be useful, though, if you refined it. It would make Chidori, or Rasengan too dangerous to use."

Yohko shook her head again, "No, I do not think so. Those jutsu are not the same type, and Tenjin's Mirror takes too long. I got the idea for this from your Kagemane, Nara-san, and some things Hinata and Anko have said. The Kagemane is a long-duration jutsu, it creates a connection between the shinobi using it, and their target, that must be maintained. I noticed after the first couple of times you caught me with your shadow that there is a feel to it, a distortion in my own chakra, almost as if you are using some of my chakra to maintain the connection?" Shikamaru did not visibly react, so she continued, Tenjin's Mirror takes that connection and... reflects it, back on the one who created it. It does not take over the other connection, merely creates a duplicate running in the other direction." She reached into the hip-pouch at the small of her back, and pulled out a scroll, "It is all here, though I am going to have to update it, now that I have actually tried it. I will have to test it against other techniques that generate such connections, to see if it will work against those as well as the Kagemane."

One of Shikamaru's eyebrows twitched upwards, asking in an utterly flat voice, "You just used a completely new technique against me?"

Anko saw the look on his face, and burst out laughing. Yohko blinked at him, confused, "H... hai, Nara-san? What is wrong?"

"Typical woman," he muttered under his breath, then continued more loudly, "you just used a completely untried jutsu on someone without warning them first. That's incredibly dangerous, girl."

If he had actually been yelling, Yohko might have been less confused, but he still sounded as tired and uninterested as he had when she first met him. "We do this all the time, Nara-san," she said, "it is perfectly safe, as safe as any other training..."

"You get used to it, Shikamaru," Anko said, rolling to her feet and dusting herself off. "They're always doing something crazy without asking, first. It's a sure sign of total insanity."

Shikamaru just grunted, then dropped his head and gave a long-suffering sigh, "Troublesome. Now I'm going to have to work on the Kagemane again to get by this 'mirror'. My father's going to want to see it as well, and he'll insist on working with me to create a counter. Damn it, this is going to cut into my free time." He stopped staring at his feet, to glare at Yohko again. "You do this all the time? Create new techniques?"

Yohko nodded slowly, still not quite sure why he was angry, or even if he was. "We have to. Nothing normal works for us."

"So everything you've done, you came up with all of it?"

"Not all of them, some of them were created by my sibs and I learned from them. But the seven of us have to create all our techniques."

He shook his head, "kami help me, that's exhausting just to think about. After this little show, I want to meet with you a few times, go over some of them." He glanced at Anko, "That all right with you, Anko?"

Anko shrugged, "Sure, why not? The more people babysitting them, the more time I have to go be lazy."

"Tche, girl could help me teach my classes, if she's that good." He turned his attention back to Yohko, "Let's see that 'mirror' again."

Yohko tried to nod, then realized he had bound her again while she was distracted. Sighing, she started gathering and forming her chakra again. She would take longer, this time, watch more carefully to be certain it formed correctly. Her plan originally should have given her total dominance, not the temporary superiority she had achieved.

------------------------------

Three weeks after first arriving, Hinata had to admit that the clearing she had chosen to train Mitsumi in was no longer peaceful, nor quiet, nor pretty. She wondered several times what the ANBU guards hiding in the forest thought of it. The trees still bordered the clearing, the river still flowed past at a tranquil pace, and the space was still open. But the stumps at one end were burned and splintered, and what little grass remained was sere and scorched. Hinata herself was crouched on the river's retaining wall, watching the sparring match before her as it wrapped up.

_Won't need the bucket, this time,_ she decided, watching Mitsumi, one hand resting on the large wooden container beside her, filled to the brim with river water.

The latest conflagration to devastate the area was settling down, the bonfire flames crackling and leaping as frenetically as before, but growing steadily smaller. From a towering height, they dwindled rapidly down to nothing, a few small tongues trying to survive on the charred ash left over from prior explosions. Seconds after Hinata noticed the flame lagging, Mitsumi fell over backwards with a loud groan, landing in the center of the freshly burned area, a cloud of ash exploding around her.

As the cloud of debris settled, Mitsumi groaned, "Somebody kill me now. I'm too tired to do it myself."

Naruto, a few yards away from her, was slumped over as well, though he had remained standing. "What're you complaining for?" He was panting, despite having discarded his trademark jacket. He was smiling, though, obviously quite enjoying himself, "You just stood there and looked cool. I was the one doing all the running! Tche, just like Sasuke, making me do all the work."

Mitsumi's head moved, lifting slowly to stare at the Chunin. For a moment, Hinata thought she was going to say something rather sharp. Then her head hit the dirt again, causing another puff of ash. "Too damn tired," she grumbled, just loudly enough to be heard.

Convinced that the two of them were finished for the moment, Hinata rose from her position of watchfulness, and walked over. Aiming for Mitsumi, she addressed Naruto, "Are you all right, Naruto-kun?"

He started walking over as well, waving one hand negligently, "Ah, you know me, Hinata-chan. Gimme a minute an' I'll be fine."

Hinata reached Mitsumi, standing over her with a curious expression. Mitsumi was laying there, breathing hard, eyes closed. To all the world, she looked like she had fallen asleep. When Hinata reached down, however, one hand immediately came up to meet hers, and she hauled her sister to her feet, repeating her question "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Mitsumi muttered, "just damn tired." Activating Mitsumi's vision technique, Hinata checked her sister, mentioning, _we need to name this thing, Mitsumi. It's too powerful not to have its own name_. The normal ravening aura of chakra that surrounded all the Guardians was gone, only streamers of it remaining, and the fountains of Mitsumi's tenketsu. Already the aura was replenishing, but Hinata could tell it would take time.

_Don't need to name it,_ Mitsumi replied, _it's just how I see. You and Raiden are the only other people who use it._

"We'll take a break then," Hinata decided, "it's close enough to lunch time." Naruto was already standing where Hinata had been watching, next to their packs. Hinata and Mitsumi moved more slowly, Mitsumi shaking her arms and legs a little, both to remove ash and cool down. _You're improving,_ Hinata told her privately, _Remember the first time you tried anything like that?_

"Not this again," Mitsumi groaned aloud. _I knocked myself out and scared the lot of you silly. Yes, yes, you've said time and again that I need to think things through more. That's Yohko's schtick, not mine. I haven't gotten that lost again since, have I?_

_You do need to be more patient. You've been careful and patient these last few weeks, _a_nd now you can get more than a little palm-sized flame, and you're only tired instead of unconscious. Improvement._

_Improvement enough?_

"Maybe," Hinata said aloud, settling down on the wall again. "Remember, I have no idea what Yohko and Raiden are doing, so..."

"He's trying to kill Uchiha-teme," Mitsumi cut her off, grinning almost viciously.

Naruto looked up from his food at that, "What? Someone's after Sasuke?"

Hinata shook her head, "Relax, Naruto-kun. Sasuke is training Kodachi Raiden, Mitsumi's teammate, but they do not get along. They are no more serious about it than you are sparring with Sasuke."

"Mah, well," Naruto appeared to think about that for a minute, then shrugged. "'Kay then, Sasuke can handle it. Speaking of sparring, I gotta say, crazy-girl, no one's ever given me a workout this hard 'cept Sasuke. Thanks, it'll be fun to have someone else to fight, for a change."

Mitsumi shrugged, already eating, so Hinata answered, "Any of us could do as well, Naruto, though Rumiko and Yohko would probably have the hardest time of it."

Naruto perked up, "Really? You, too? You've gotten that much stronger, Hinata? Cool! Shikamaru's too lazy, Neiji's always off on missions, or looking around with that 'Bow before me for I am Jounin' attitude." His good mood faded after a moment, and he asked, "Umm, actually, how? I mean, it's cool and all, but how're a bunch a Genin..."

Hinata sighed, shaking her head, "You were at the hearing, Naruto. I saw you and Sasuke hiding in the back."

He looked thoughtful for a moment, then his face brightened, "Oh yeah! I remember that one. Sasuke was being all paranoid, so I talked him into sneaking in. Once we were in, the bastard tied me up! Why the hell'd he do that, when it was my idea?"

"Because you'd've made noise and gotten him thrown out with you," Mitsumi said. "Don't you ever shut up?" Naruto gave her a hurt look, but she plowed on, "we've got a seal, same as you, only different."

He blinked, then got a weak smile, "Ah, seal? Ah... I... I don't have any seals. I think I could make one, though. Oh! Ero-sennin taught me a really slick one a couple months ago," he started puzzling at it, but Mitsumi grabbed his wrist. Right under his eye, the Seal appeared on the back of her right hand, a set of black kanji characters that were shortly suffused by a light blue glow.

"We've got a seal. And we know about the Kyuubi. Kinda hard not too, since both your seal and ours were created by the same guy, and we like poking our noses into things that shouldn't concern us."

Hinata took Mitsumi's hand in hers, pulling it away from Naruto. "We're not _supposed _to know about him, 'Sune," she chided. "It's Naruto's secret to keep, not ours to share."

"Yeah, but he's the only one..."

"Never assume that," Hinata countered. "You know ANBU is about, there may easily be others. Remember your Genin exam?"

"Ah, excuse me?" Naruto was looking at Mitsumi, "it's cool, Hinata-chan. I kinda thought most people had figured it out, by now. If she's known this long, she hasn't done anything, so... it's cool. But I'm curious about something."

Mitsumi leapt back into control of the conversation, "how the Fourth Hokage put a seal on us when we were born after he died?"

She promptly lost control of it again when he answered, "No, but that seal looks familiar. Not most of it, but that mark in the center. I... I dunno, something's familiar about it."

Hinata looked at him curiously, then at Mitsumi's hand, still held in hers. The writing of the seal was incredibly fine, but she could make it out with a bit of focus. "Inari," she said after a moment, "I believe."

"Yeah," Mitsumi said, "I picked the Fox. Raiden chose the Reaper, Yohko the Unicorn, Kuma the Mountain, Juubei the Sword, and Rumiko the Dragon. You got the Sun, onee-san. It's no wonder he recognizes it, really."

Naruto still looked confused. "Why's it no wonder?"

Mitsumi gave him a blank stare, but Hinata could not help giggling at his confused look. "Inari is the goddess of Foxes, Naruto-kun," she explained, "and Kyuubi is the greatest fox-demon who ever existed."

Mitsumi continued, "Since they're Fox Goddess and Fox Demon, they're both probably painfully familiar with each other. 'S probably why I like you – you think crazy like I do."

Hinata finished, thoughtfully, "They might be related, somehow. You'd have to ask a priest, though, I couldn't say."

"Related?" Naruto's voice was quavering, "Kyuubi and Inari?"

"Yeah, maybe," Mitsumi nodded, "dunno, I don't think about this crap much, there's too much fun to be had to waste time being all philosophical."

"So," Naruto was now intensely focused, thinking hard, and obviously straining with the effort. "If Kyuubi and Inari are related," the two girls nodded, but he didn't seem to notice, "and I'm Kyuubi's vessel, and she's Inari's vessel..."

"Hey! I'm no '_vessel_' blondie!"

He ignored Mitsumi's outburst, "... then that would mean...," horror suffused his expression a moment before he finished, and Hinata dropped her head into her hands, already knowing where he was going, "... Kuso! I'm related to the crazy-lady's daughter! No! No, I don't want to be related to _you_!"

Mitsumi just stared at him for a moment, fury and disbelief radiating off her plainly enough for even Naruto to notice. Hinata, for her part, could not decide whether to laugh or sigh. Either one seemed appropriate, and equally likely to get her in trouble.

"Baka! Aho!" Mitsumi, for her part, eventually settled on anger, throwing a handful of sand and ash at Naruto, "I told you a million times,_ I'm not her daughter_! I'm her _niece_! And what in hell makes you think I'm related to you? Or would want to be!"

Naruto bolted and Mitsumi chased after him, still screaming invective at him. Hinata looked up to follow them, laughing silently. Naruto glanced over at her, and when he had her attention, winked once, before dodging another rock and continuing to run, protesting his innocence the whole time.

------------------------------

Shadows swirled madly amongst the trees, psychotic dancers moving to different songs. Streamers of chakra leapt from the Uchiha's clutching hand as a painfully bright light formed in his cupped palm. Seconds later, as a blue mass the size of his head accelerated towards him faster than any kunai, he shouted, "Chidori!" His left hand came up and forward, a fast slamming punch capable of killing, even without the mass of chakra held in his palm.

The explosion when Chidori's energy slammed into Raiden's Thunderbolt was, to say the least, titanic. A trench was scoured into the earth by the blast, as most of the energies were directed outward in a disc, perpendicular to the two attacks' line of impact. Still, a cloud of dust and debris was blown out of the impact point by the residual power. Even prepared for it, the Uchiha was sent tumbling backwards as the two attacks liberated enough energy to flatten a building into each other. He was prepared for it, however, and rolled to his feet some thirty yards back, hands up in defensive positions.

Raiden, for his part, remained where he was, off to one side an equal distance from the impact point, on one knee, resting his chest on the other and both hands on the ground. Looking up, he watched the Uchiha stroll over to the trench and examine it for a minute. Then the Chunin turned and strolled over to him, hands comfortably in his pockets, projecting a confident lack of concern for the forces he and his 'student' had just unleashed. The long twisting black lines of the curse-seal on his skin, and the bright red of his Sharingan, gave lie to that impression. They had been there for days now, a constant and unchanging part of his appearance that was almost coming to seem normal to Raiden.

The Uchiha stopped several yards off, asking simply, "Well?"

"Ten minutes," Raiden panted back, "maybe fifteen."

The Uchiha considered that for a moment, then shook his head slowly. "One shot every ten minutes, minimum of five in between, no more than three in an hour. Why do you even bother, kid? If you don't hit with the first one, you'll never last long enough to try a second."

"But if I do hit with the first one...," Raiden responded, letting the statement trail off.

"Tche, that's a big 'if', gaki." The Uchiha shifted to one side, leaning against a tree. "Since we're going to be waiting anyhow, I've got some more questions."

Raiden sighed, but nodded. They had not left the Forest of Death since entering it, twenty days previously. The Uchiha had insisted that they live off the forest only, using only what they had brought into the Forrest to begin with. Whenever they were not engaged in obtaining the next meal, the Uchiha kept him sparring, sleeping, or answering questions, relentlessly pushing whatever task he had set until Raiden was ready to collapse. Usually, he went past that, pushing just to see how far he could.

"Let's see, we've gone over the Seal itself, though you remain frustratingly general; your chakra, and how you mold it as opposed to how real shinobi do it; your versions of most basic techniques; how you use chakra to boost your physical abilities..." he trailed off, staring at Raiden, who merely returned the gaze. "Tell me about the Thunderbolt, then. I've seen a lot of techniques that use chakra to create a projectile, but those are physical objects. Your Thunderbolt is just chakra, concentrated power. I've never seen anyone _throw _chakra like that, especially without keeping a line of chakra to control it. I'd like to know how someone who's supposed to specialize in barriers came up with such a devastating attack technique."

"I came up with it _because _I'm so good with barriers," Raiden explained. "That's all it is, really, a barrier wrapped around a bolt. Developed it from the basic bolt, which is simply a directed, somewhat organized, burst of chakra. Impact and chakra burn to inanimate objects, chakra disruption and chakra burn to a living target. We've found the effect from a basic bolt's roughly equal to a powerfully thrown kunai. Potentially fatal, but only if your aim is perfect."

"Tche, any technique is like that."

"Which is why I decided to take it further," Raiden said. "Originally, I came up with the idea after Juubei tried to break through one of my barriers with a bolt. Since the barrier's made of chakra, and the bolt disrupts chakra, the two interacted oddly. The bolt sort of... took the barrier with it. A little fine tuning on both ends, and I had the Thunderbolt. If you tried to hit my right hand just before I throw the Thunderbolt, it'd be like punching a steel plate set in a granite cliff, with your bare hand. You might break it, but you'd definitely break your hand, because there's a concentrated barrier there just as strong as my full-protection barrier. The Thunderbolt keeps getting stronger, because I keep refining it, as my barriers strengthen, improving it to break through them."

"A barrier wrapped around a bolt? What good is that?"

"Like wrapping your fist in steel, Uchiha, it hits harder, and... creates a sharper 'point' on the strike, that gets the bolt through the target's protections more easily."

"I guess. So, what are you planning to do with that thing. Hit first and go for the easy win?"

Raiden shook his head, "No. I'm not using that except against someone who either really deserves it, or someone who's prepared for it."

"Prepared for it? Kid, you know that the only thing I've got to counter it is Chidori, especially since I showed you how to improve it."

"Regardless," Raiden said, "Only against someone who deserves it or is prepared for it. As for specifically who could stand up to it? Yohko and Mitsumi are both familiar with it, and Hyuuga Hanabi no doubt knows more than she's letting on. As for the rest, I wouldn't really know, since you've had me out here in solitary for so long now."

"Next subject, Hinata. Every one of you has a rather glaring weakness, except her. Why is that?"

Raiden glared at him, debating. He knew he would not be able to get away with no answer, and lying would be futile, given the Uchiha's own duplicitous nature. "She has a weakness," he admitted finally. Tsunade had discovered it after the physicals. "You'll forgive me if I do not care to tell anyone what it is."

The Uchiha stared at him for a few moments, then nodded, "Fine," he shoved himself off the tree, "let's get going."

Raiden nodded, rising from his crouch to assume a stance, left hand leading, right hand back. The Uchiha shook his head, the curse seal fading from his skin, "Wrong, gaki. We're done. Training's over. You've got five days to clean the stink off, and trust me, the judges are going to notice if you show up looking as ragged as you do now. Then, you'll also need the time to talk to Yohko and Mitsumi about what they've managed to discover about the competition," his voice took on a doubtful tone, "if anything."

Raiden was surprised, but managed not to give in to the temptation to attack when the Uchiha turned to lead the way to the entrance. Last member of a dead clan, he had proven himself a more difficult opponent than Raiden had expected, and was probably hoping for just such a mistake. It took them a couple of hours to work their way through the tangle of untended vegetation, old traps, and left over pitfalls. They reached the gate as the sun was setting, and the Uchiha once again triggered the automatic system.

Before they separated, however, the Uchiha stopped him with a word, "Kodachi." It was the first time, as far as Raiden could remember, that the Uchiha had called him by name. He turned back, and quirked an eyebrow, waiting. There was, for a change, an expression on his face that was not insulting, but almost pensive. "You're headed down a dangerous road, Kodachi. The same one I was on at your age, and Tsunade's cover story aside, we both know how that turned out." The black marks reappeared, flowing over his skin as he glared at Raiden, "My teacher warned me, so now I'm going to warn you – don't go down that road. You've already paid a price, but you can always be made to pay more."

Raiden blinked. Getting warned about this from Anko and Kakashi was old hat, by now. But from the Uchiha? This was, far and away, one of the strangest things he had ever experienced. "Thank you for the warning, Uchiha," he said, "but you're path was one of solitary retribution. Ours is not so lonely."

"But it can end just as badly." The curse-seal faded away again, and the Uchiha's emotionless demeanor returned. "I've done my part. Oh, and fair's fair. Second floor, last door on the left." He walked off, hands in his pockets, utterly possessed by his own thoughts once more.

Raiden watched him go for a few minutes, wondering what the hell that last statement had been. He was still wondering later, when he reached the Dojo. Opening the door, he stepped inside, intending to head right for the showers, but pausing for a moment to just watch his family, whom he hadn't seen in days. Mitsumi was laying on the crossbeam in front of her room, Kuma, Juubei and Yohko were sitting to one side, talking quietly. Rumiko was also perched in front of her room, reading instead of lounging. Watching them, he realized exactly what the Uchiha's last statement had been. _It's where he sleeps. _Which thought was followed almost immediately by,_ Kuso! the bastard's been in the Dojo._

------------------------------

Fuse2005 – Power's what the story is about; what it is, what people do with and for it, and what it costs. If I pull this off correctly, there'll be a lot more of all of the above before the final chapter. As far as the character's ages go… the Academy teaches kids from an undetermined (but definitely pre-adolescent) age to fight, and eventually to kill. They average rookie Genin is, in a lot of ways, ridiculously mature for their age, and the Guardians, with good reason, are worse, so don't assume that '12' means 'kid', though it does in some ways. As for a Hinata/Raiden romance… you sure you're not reading too much into what could be friendly teasing of the easily embarrassed? What little romantic plotline there is to this story is both established, no combination I've yet seen here, and purely a support for other matters (primarily because I have a very limited understanding of how to write such things). As far as Naruto training Raiden, sorry to disappoint, but Sasuke just worked out better, for a couple reasons. I thought about using Naruto for that, partly due to his power, but also because he's used to dealing with powerful figures as an equal (Tsunade, Jiraiya, Kyuubi, etc). But he fit better with training Mitsumi, and this gave me a chance to work Sasuke a little closer to where I want him. As for them showing up more often, I'm uncomfortable using someone else's characters (hence this story's focus on my own original characters) since I've never seen professional authors get each other's characters quite right, and I'm not nearly as good as they are.

The Muses Tk and Zv – So nice to have a regular reader & reviewer, thank you muchly! I started posting here on a whim, it's surprising how much I've started looking forward to the reviews (when I'm not panicking about the probable reactions). You're right about the switch to Nori, and I may go back and re-work it. But, I'm trying to use a single character's view for each section, and stick to that character's view of everything (such as Raiden never calling Sasuke by name), and Nori's a true sociopath (if I properly understand the definition I found on-line) in that she literally doesn't think of other people as people, just objects for her use. Only the really dangerous ones, like Aku or The Master, stick out in her mind. I liked Hinata's mind as well – that's one of the things that bothered me, how she changed and how to express that 'independently' of what she says. And Sasuke, ahhh Sasuke – he's going to be a lot of fun, as things progress. As I said to Fuse2005, I'm not so good with other people's characters, I'd appreciate any thoughts you have on how I've done so far (Sasuke, Naruto, Shikamaru, Anko, any of them).

anAdept – Always good to hear someone's enjoying this. I can't complain about the lack of reviews, though, since I'm rather poor at that myself. Thanks for the compliment, and I hope the story continues to live up to expectations.


	19. 18 White & Black

**Rise of the Guardians**

By Daishi Prime

- 18 – White & Black -

As befitted their family's rank in Konoha, the Hyuugas were afforded some of the best seats in the Arena complex. Far forward, just behind the Fire Country nobility, in the western tier. They would be in shade throughout the exam, had an excellent view of the entire ground area of the arena, and were seated as close to the two officiating Kages as possible. Sitting next to her father, Hinata wondered idly what reason, precisely, her father had for granting her this position, as he had not in any previous Chunin exam. Concern for her safety, respect for her accomplishments, or pressure from the Clan Elders to keep closer tabs on her?

If the latter were the reason, she had no doubt those elders were quite unhappy. While the Clan prodigy, Neiji, was seated respectfully to her father's left, he and she were the only Hyuuga seated around the Clan Head. Seated immediately behind her, without permission or apology, were Kuma, Rumiko and Juubei, with Kakashi and Anko behind them. They used the Hokage's orders, that they remain close at all times, as an excuse to commandeer the positions closest to her. When one of the Elders, an aunt who was particularly insular, had tried to get Hinata to remove them, she had merely smiled, and agreed to 'do her best' to move them.

The entire entourage, including an ANBU squad in full masks and cloaks stationed at the back of the tier, had just gotten settled when a shadow settled over her. She looked up just in time for the intruder to speak. "Excuse me, Lord Hyuuga," Sasuke's words were directed to her father, but his eyes met hers and remained there, "I was wondering if I might join you and your family in watching the tournament?"

Hinata could feel the tension in her siblings, even without the link. They had not been pleased with Anko, or her, for arranging his training of Raiden, and were patently no happier to have him here now. For his part, the last of the Uchiha's ignored the Genin, staring at Hinata while he waited for an answer. She debated for a moment, then nodded. Her father echoed her a moment later, "Certainly, Uchiha-san. I would welcome your analysis of the matches."

Sasuke settled into the empty seat next to Hinata, shifting his gaze to the arena floor, where only Asuma was yet visible. "I understand your youngest, Hanabi, is competing. Congratulations, and best of luck."

"Thank you," Hiashi was polite, but Hinata could tell by his tone that he was curious. The Hyuuga and Uchiha clans had rarely had much to do with each other, beyond the occasional personal rivalry. "I understand you had a hand in preparing one of the candidates, Kodachi Raiden."

Sasuke's face cracked a small smile, "Yes, he was rather... interesting. I actually don't know what to expect from him..."

Sasuke's reply was cut off by a hand grabbing his shoulder and unceremoniously dumping him in the aisle, accompanied by a rather loud, "Oi, teme! Thanks for the seat, I wanna talk with Hina-chan for a bit." Sasuke rolled to his feet, but Naruto was already sitting beside Hinata, grinning widely and completely ignoring the Uchiha. "Hey, Hina-chan, how's it going?"

Hinata blushed slightly, embarrassed by both his behavior, and his insistence on using Anko's nickname for her, picked up from Mitsumi over the last month. "Please don't call me that, Naruto-kun," she whispered, "and Sasuke was discussing something with my father."

"Ah, Teme doesn't know what he's talking about."

"Oi, dobe," Sasuke said softly, "you're in my seat."

"There is space beside Neiji," Hiashi said, not having moved a muscle from watching the Arena floor, "please, Uchiha-san, feel free to sit there." The family retainer who had been honored with that position immediately stood and moved to the far aisle, without so much as an order. Sasuke glared at Naruto for a moment longer, then moved easily to the offered position.

Naruto laughed, but refrained from any further insults. Instead, he turned his attention back to Hinata, "So, Hina-chan. How do you think Mitsumi's gonna do? All the way, right?"

"I do not think so," Hinata replied, "she is skilled, but so are Yohko and Raiden."

Her father shifted slightly, "You do not think any of the other candidates can compete against them, daughter?"

Hinata shook her head, "I do not know the other candidates well enough, save Hanabi. She may have some advantage of knowledge against the Guardians, but Raiden and Mitsumi both know her just as well."

"Ah, Mitsumi's stronger than Hanabi," Naruto said, "she's the only one other than Sasuke-teme who's given me a good run in years. I can't wait to see how well she does."

"Hanabi has learned a few techniques of her own," Hiashi said, eyes shifting to Naruto for a moment, "techniques that should surprise all of us, I think."

Further discussion was stopped by the ringing of a gong. Moments later, the eight candidates stepped out onto the arena floor, lining up in the center, facing the Hokage and Kazekage. Stepping to the edge of the Kage's Balcony, Tsunade spoke, projecting her voice for all to hear. Never comfortable with public speaking, she gave her typical speech, congratulating the candidates on making it this far, exhorting them to do their best, and urging the crowd to watch closely. Finally winding down, she handed control over to Asuma, standing before the candidates.

He turned to them, "Right, Genin. Up in the observation bay, all of you except the first two competitors." Consulting a scroll, he called out, "Hyuuga Hanabi of the Leaf, Kodachi Raiden of the Leaf. You're first."

--------------------------------------------

Raiden could not decide if he was pleased or not to be in the first fight, or to face Hanabi immediately. He definitely wanted to fight her, but the first fight of the day was sooner than he had expected. On the other hand, getting it over with, and having what he expected to be a challenging fight immediately, would help with the jitters he had started feeling the night before. Talking with Hinata, about her Chunin exams, had started making him nervous, not so much about the outcome of the fights, as possible opponents.

Setting the emotions aside, as the other candidates walked over to the small entrance leading to the observation bay, he walked past Asuma, ignoring the acrid smell of the man's cigar as he ignored Hanabi's stare. Once he was a good distance beyond the Jounin, he turned, and matched the Hyuuga's considering look, weighing his opponent. She was relaxed and ready, but he thought he could sense nervousness in the way her eyes kept shifting over him.

Asuma gave the other candidates plenty of time to reach the bay, waiting until he had accounted for each of them up there, then nodded. "Get started."

Raiden settled into stance, right leg back and bent, left straight and leading, both hands up before him but loose. Hanabi merely stood there for a moment, then glanced up in to the audience tiers, before returning her attention to Raiden. "Are you using the link you have with my sister?"

The question surprised him, in several ways, but he realized immediately that it should not have. She had been training with her father for a month, and Hyuuga Hiashi knew about the link. After a moment, he shook his head, "No, Hanabi, we are not. All three of us are blocking the link, whenever one of us is on the field. We agreed on that after the first part of the exam."

"Thank you," Hanabi nodded. "You know, the whole time we were at the Academy together, I thought like Toben, that you were mediocre at best. But now... now I've got one more question for you, Kodachi." Her eyes narrowed, stopping just short of a glare, "was it worth it?"

Raiden blinked, unable for a moment to understand what she meant. "Excuse me?"

"The Seal. I know what it cost you. Was it worth it? Was it worth what it did to you, to your friends, to _my sister_?"

He looked at her for a moment, straightening out of stance, considering. "You know, Hanabi," he told her thoughtfully, "I do believe you're the first person to ask me that. Everyone else who knows has gone on about 'the price', and how terrible it is. But was it worth it…" He paused, then smiled, "Ask me again after our match. For now, I'll give you this to think about – you pay for what you get, and you get what you pay for." He settled back into stance, "Now, I believe the audience is expecting a fight, ne?"

Hanabi brought her hands up, forming seals, "Byakugan!" The striations around her eyes appeared, and she smiled confidently at him.

Raiden matched her smile, switching the orientation of his hands, pushing his right out and drawing the left back. As they passed, he swung both out to the sides. "Firecracker!" The flash of light was brilliant, even for him who was protected by being both at the center and its creator. Raiden was moving immediately, gliding left and closing in. He flinched back, however, as Hanabi moved to follow and tossed a kunai at him, a fast flick of the wrist that lacked power, but was precisely aimed at his eyes.

"Baaakka," she drawled, "do you really think you're the first person to try and blind the Byakugan? I thought the technique was more destructive, though, I'm disappointed."

Pausing, evaluating, Raiden replied, "It was worth a shot. Mitsumi's is more destructive, she creates an actual burst of flame. But it did confirm something for me."

"Oh, what's that," Hanabi asked, shifting to her left slowly, circling him.

Raiden smiled, moving to his own left, matching her speed precisely. "You've been training specifically to fight us, haven't you? Not the Mist shinobi, not your teammate – us, the Guardians." He could tell this was going to be a fun match. Hanabi was showing remarkable patience and focus, more than Mitsumi ever displayed, but more energy than Yohko or Hinata usually brought to a fight.

Hanabi shook her head, "I know Jiro's methods, and the Mist-nin don't worry me, I've seen Mist-nin before. You three are the unpredictable element, the dangerous ones."

"I'm touched," Raiden replied, "are we just going to waltz, here, or are you going to attack me sometime soon?"

"Just being polite," Hanabi replied, giving him a genuinely amused smile, "I thought I'd let you go first."

_She's enjoying this as well,_ Raiden thought as they continued their slow circle. Neither of them was in any sort of stance, but neither were they open. Raiden's leading hand shifted back and forth, about the level of his hip, his left hand mirroring it at shoulder height, while his steps were slow, sure, and small enough that he was never – quite – out of balance. Hanabi was moving more fluidly, hands flowing in a sinuous weave, stride uneven but gentle, her entire movement a dance that seemed vulnerable but left no openings. After a few more seconds, as her gestures opened slightly to give a greater impression of vulnerability, Raiden nodded, "If you insist."

He started simple, a fast straight charge. Hanabi watched it come, spinning to his right at the last second as his left arm extended into the punch. Her elbow came around, aiming for his head, both hands clasped to send her full strength into the blow. He rolled forward, allowing the blow to pass overhead, landing on bent arms. As Hanabi completed her spin and drew one fist up for a down-strike, he continued his roll, whipping his legs up and out, using his arms to spin himself into a short windmill. In response, Hanabi flipped backwards, a single handspring taking her several yards away.

Raiden used his own momentum to flip himself upright, just in time to meet her return charge. He saw the straight fingers and open palms of her hands, and slapped both to his right before rolling along her outstretched arms, his own elbow coming around. Hanabi used his block to spin herself against his rotation, her right hand slamming into his elbow before it could strike her head. Her counter robbed him of the attack, and his own spin, then her left hand slammed into his back just above his kidney, a burst of chakra slamming into the barrier wrapped around his body, causing it to ripple as he catapulted away from her.

He rolled back to his feet and spun to face her as she closed to follow up. She was too close for him to get his feet back, so he continued his clockwise spin, lashing out with his left leg to try and sweep her down. She leapt over it, and over his head, causing him to duck as she tried to grab him, hair or shoulders he couldn't tell which. The two of them came upright at the same time. He was still spinning, and lashed out with his right hand, aiming a back-hand blow at her jaw.

To his surprise, she caught his wrist instead of deflecting the blow, stopping his spin. She wrenched his wrist around, trying to lock his arm, but both their fists slammed to a halt just at his shoulder height, caught in a barrier Raiden formed of chakra, which was itself pinned to the ground. At the same moment, Raided twisted against the force of her grip and blocked her rising left leg with his, grabbing her left wrist in his own left hand.

For a moment, they stood there, her behind him, both of them balanced on one leg, each of them holding a binding grip on the other. Both of them were breathing faster than normal, and continued testing the other's grip, shifting minutely looking for any sign of weakness or give. "That's not Jyuuken," Raiden said, concentrating on holding her left wrist. The barrier around their right hands made it harder for him to maintain both leverage and balance, but it also prevented her from locking his arm completely, so he left it, focusing on holding her left. "It's Ryu-jutsu, Water Dragon form, if I'm not mistaken. Opening move to Drowning Grasp, Rumiko's favorite pin."

Hanabi grunted, trying to free her right hand without letting go of his. "Father focused on Jyuuken. Neiji-kun's more flexible, and I like using someone's own techniques against them."

"Water Dragon's not my style, Hanabi."

"Didn't say it was for you." She jerked again, then continued, "Something to think about, Kodachi. Barrier's made of Chakra are not the smartest thing to use to hold a Hyuuga."

He felt the focused pulse of chakra brush his wrist as it left her finger tips, felt it mingle with the chakra in his barrier, and cursed mentally. Releasing the barrier fast and dirty, before Hanabi could put it to her own use, caused it to detonate, a wash of power and sound that broke both their grips and sent them tumbling in two directions. Both of them rolled back to their feet, pausing again. The first round had been quick, and while the dust from the blast settled, they had a few seconds to evaluate each other, and both took the opportunity.

_We're the same speed,_ Raiden decided, _but I'm stronger in physical and chakra terms. But she's accurate, and I can't hold her in a barrier at all._ Replenishing the barrier around his torso, where her strike had weakened it drastically, he added, _can't even rely on a barrier for protection._

--------------------------------------------

"They aren't using many jutsu," Neiji commented, "I'm surprised. I know Hanabi prefers ninjutsu to taijutsu, and I thought Raiden did also?"

"You're correct, Neiji-nii-san," Hinata confirmed, smiling slightly, "but he is having fun, and so, I believe, is Hanabi. Neither of them is used to having an opponent who is their equal, and no restrictions on the fight."

"They're playing," Sasuke simplified.

"Testing," Hiashi countered, "Hanabi feels a personal grudge against him for her rescue, and for the Seal you took, Hinata. But what of Raiden?"

"Raiden is his own person," Hinata replied, unwilling to answer. She knew what Raiden was doing, but discussing it here, with so many nobles about, would not be good.

"Here's hoping they get moving soon," Sasuke said. "Hinata, do you think he'll use the Thunderbolt on Hanabi?"

Hinata shook her head, "No, I do not think so. He won't try to kill her, only beat her."

Suddenly, beside her, Naruto lunged to his feet, pointing at the competitors. "Hey!" he shouted, "That's _my_ jutsu! Thief!"

--------------------------------------------

Hanabi moved first, forming a rapid series of seals. Raiden watched, trying to anticipate what was coming, then lunged backwards to double the range, eyes widening as she completed the pattern, shouting, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" For a moment, she was lost in a cloud of smoke, a very large cloud. As the smoke cleared, there were ten versions of her, ten perfect copies of the youngest Hyuuga, smirking at him confidently. He checked each, looking for discrepancies, but found none, not even a change in weight on the grass.

From up in the stands, he heard a distant shout of, "Hey! That's my jutsu!"

More importantly, in front of him, all ten Hanabi's spoke, generating an odd chorus-like effect, "You're not the only one who can get their hands on scrolls they shouldn't." Slowly, carefully, making sure he recognized what they were doing, the ten of them moved into line and settled into the opening stance of Jyuuken, left arm leading, right arm back, both hands flat and straight up.

Raiden watched them move thinking, _unity of speech, unity of action. She has better control over her clones than Uzumaki, but is she as creative about using them as he is?_ "You really are something else, Hanabi, stealing Uzumaki's technique like that. But you know," he smiled, and tossed her own words back to her, "you're not the only one who can use someone _else's _techniques." Watching her face drop slightly in worry, he gave her just as much time to appreciate what he was doing as she had given him. He slid his right leg back, right hand moving as well, left hand coming up before him, right going to his hip, palms open – Jyuuken's opening stance. Hanabi sucked in an angry breath, and he could hear protests coming from where the Hyuuga clan was sitting, but he ignored them. Rolling his left hand around, he beckoned for Hanabi to come to him.

She obliged, all ten copies moving as one. Looked at objectively, Raiden had to admit it was a virtuoso performance for any Genin, let alone a rookie. The further out they were, the faster the bunshin moved, but the timing was even more perfect than that. The first four would reach him simultaneously, in an enveloping formation, followed by four more, followed by the last pair. _Assume they've all go the Byakugan,_ Raiden told himself, _and act accordingly. No barriers where they can reach them. _He shuffled backwards, keeping the range open, while further reinforcing his own personal barriers. When the first four clones were about halfway to him, he opened fire, launching a single bolt from each hand.

Almost a month in the Forest of Death, fighting the Uchiha as continuously as mortal endurance permitted, he had toughened considerably, physically. He did not think his chakra reserves had changed, particularly, but he had improved in one critical area thanks to the unremitting work – chakra control. These bolts were, structurally, the same as those his siblings could generate, a simple packet of chakra glowing blue. But these were smaller, more compact, and far more efficient than they had been, and he had four in flight in less than a second, four more just behind that, and instead of collapsing, he was merely breathing heavily, and feeling a little weak in the knees.

The Hanabi-clones saw the strikes coming, but a bolt moves very fast, even for shinobi. Three in the first wave were hit, vanishing in puffs of smoke as the chakra that gave them form was disrupted. Two in the second wave were also hit, but only one vanished, the other spinning about as her dodge caused the bolt to catch her upper arm instead of her chest, blowing a hole in her coat and scorching her arm.

_Marked the real one,_ Raiden thought confidently, then no longer had time to notice. The first clone arrived, coming in fast with her right hand, aiming for his stomach. His left hand pushed her strike further to his right, too fast to get a grab, but reversing the block led to a knife-hand strike to the throat, which dispersed that clone. The clones of the second wave arrived, Hanabi herself hanging back now that she was injured, and they pressed him harder. Clones, even Kage Bunshin, were inherently less capable than true shinobi, unable to actually _think_, to adapt, but they also reflect their creator, making Hanabi's very dangerous.

This pair came in coordinated, one high and right, the other low and left. He spun right, blocking high and trying to position High between him and Low. The gambit mostly failed, as Low converted her open-handed strike into a leg sweep aimed more at his knee than his ankle, High leaping to clear it. A leap of his own took him over High's bounce, and a two-handed shove slammed High down onto Low, causing both to vanish.

Completing the flip, he reached his feet just in time to see that Hanabi and both remaining clones were less than a yard from him, arms stretched wide and cupped high. "Hakke!"

_Oohhh shit,_ was his last coherent thought for several seconds.

--------------------------------------------

"Impressive control with her clones," Sasuke said.

"Yes," Neji agreed, "but she is overconfident with them. They lack the accuracy to truly utilize Jyuuken."

The two of them continued debating as the wave of clones leapt to the attack, but Hinata tuned them out. Mentally, she was trying to keep Mitsumi calm, as the girl was almost burning with excitement, over-eager for her own fight and conversely worried that Raiden would be defeated before she could fight him. She watched the eight bolts fly, feeling the shock behind her from her siblings, even without the link. Glancing at Sasuke, she saw barely any acknowledgement of the counter, but could hear appreciative murmuring amongst the nobles, and even an intrigued look on her father's face.

She returned her attention in time to see the cloud of smoke from one clone vanishing. The twisting acrobatic exchange of blows as Raiden dispatched two more was lost, however, as she watched her sister and the two remaining clones pause momentarily, several yards from Raiden as he dealt with their fellows, and crouch.

"Thus does Hanabi gain the greatest use of her Kage Bunshin," Neiji stated, "tying up the opponent in one place for the crucial seconds necessary to set up the Sixty-Four Hands of Hakke. Raiden is finished."

"He's dead," Hinata whispered, drawing everyone's attention as her left hand went to caress the Seal on her right, "if Hanabi's strike succeeds, if she blocks his tenketsu, Raiden will die. His own chakra will kill him."

--------------------------------------------

It was, simply put, the worst single beating Raiden had ever been on the receiving end of. As he flew backwards through the air, he was fairly certain that nothing, not even when the missing-nin Jounin captured him, was quite as painful as having three Hanabi's pounding on him like a drum. Hitting the ground felt like a pillow, in comparison, at least until the slide along the rough stone-filled soil dragged across the bruises and pressure-cuts.

He tumbled a few yards, feeling bones, especially his ribs, shift unnaturally, but by the time he hit the ground, he was beginning to get his self-control back. He ignored the pain, forcing it back from his mind, focusing on the most important thing – could he still function? By the time he rolled to a stop, he knew the answer was, barely, _yes_.

Still, he laid there for a few seconds, getting used to the thought. He could feel a pressure, building inside himself, and knew that he was going to have to discharge it, somehow. Above him, the crowd was silent, and he wasted an idle thought imagining the looks on their faces. The nobles would know some of what they had just witnessed, but the shinobi would know more, significantly more, and he wondered how they would react to his next move. Hanabi, now thirty or so yards away, was standing where her attack finished, crouched, hands on her knees, panting heavily.

Slowly, Raiden gathered his arms in, pushing himself up. It took a while, he had to stop once when a rib-shift caused him to cough up some blood, again a bit later when he chuckled painfully at the audience's deepening silence. He moved slowly, without turning, until he was entirely vertical again, spine straight, head backwards, staring at the sky. "Ve... very good, Hanabi-chan," he said, rolling his head sideways to give her a lopsided smile. "You just... came closer... to killing me... than anyone... _other _than me." He began releasing the chakra pressure building up within him, through the only avenue remaining to it. Sucking in a deep breath, as his chakra aura fluoresced into blue visibility, he continued, "but, you didn't. I've taken you're best. Now, let's see if you can take mine."

Hanabi's eyes were huge with disbelief. She did not allow that to slow her down, though, charging for him, hands flashing through seals. She was not fast enough.

--------------------------------------------

Hinata could not decide if she was elated or panicked, now. Seeing Raiden stand up, seeing that one tenketsu remained unsealed and that he had not been crippled, filled her with profound relief. Relief soon turned to fear as he spoke and she watched the pattern the chakra was forming, and the two emotions began struggling within her, matched by Mitsumi's exultant joy. "Spirits," she muttered, "this is supposed to be an exam, and they're trying to _kill _each other!"

"Testing each other," her father repeated, "and, I think, liking what they find."

--------------------------------------------

Raising his left hand, Raiden forced the chakra within himself out faster, gathering that already around him into his fist. It coalesced, forming a solid glowing mass of chakra that grew rapidly from a small pinpoint to smoke bomb size to the size of his head. Settling to meet Hanabi's charge, his hand dropped, arm straight behind him, cupping the strike. Pouring in the last of his chakra, as she was almost finished with her own technique, his left arm shot forward, and he growled, "Divine Thunderbolt!"

The bolt leapt from his hand, screaming towards her, bright enough to rival the sun and bathe the arena in blue. Raiden fell to one knee, almost falling over completely but catching himself with his now-scorched left hand. Even against the Uchiha he had not put so much power into a single Thunderbolt, but the pressure build-up within himself was gone now, poured into that one strike. Hanabi saw it coming, and aborted the jutsu she had been about to use, instead, whipping her arms out and, in a brilliantly executed improvisation, executing one of the Hyuuga' s more difficult maneuvers, "Kaiten!"

The dome of displaced air moved with her, her speed too high for her to stop before the bolt reached her. It screamed in, enough energy to obliterate her, and... deflected, slamming into the Kaiten barrier and ricocheting straight up. Hanabi came out of the spin, staggering slightly, but smiling again. She started walking towards him, intent on making sure he stayed down this time.

Raiden watched her, then returned her smile, and shook his head. Pointing with his right hand at her, he then traced a line straight up. "Got the idea from Juubei," he rasped. Hanabi blinked, then looked up, to see the Thunderbolt arcing over and plummeting earthward again, swerving around to line up on her again.

She muttered something, too far away for him to hear what, but this time she was prepared. Just before the Thunderbolt struck, she whirled into another Kaiten. Again the bolt was deflected, this time arcing around along the inside of the arena, skirting the edges close enough to ripple the concrete in places. It was diminished, by both deflections, chakra burning off as it maintained its integrity, but remained coherent as its flight continued.

_One more,_ he thought to himself, _it's good for one more hit._

He brought it around, the thin thread of chakra connecting him to his attack twisting and bending as it continued drawing chakra from him. Hanabi was staggering continuously now, but still tracking on the Thunderbolt, still in stance for the Kaiten. One last time, she started her spin, but this time there was precious little chakra to put into it, precious little strength left in her limbs to produce the spin.

Headed almost directly through her towards Raiden, the Thunderbolt struck Hanabi's half-formed Kaiten like its namesake, the two techniques detonating in a massive explosion that pelted the audience far above with dirt and debris.

--------------------------------------------

"Everything you said he was," Gaara said, "I'm surprised, though, that he would use such a powerful technique, even if he was about to loose. Do you suppose he killed her?" He was not watching the settling cloud where Hanabi had stood, but rather the now-prone Raiden.

Tsunade shrugged eloquently, "He's got some sort of personal grudge against the clan, I think, and Hanabi apparently returns the feelings." She paused, then added, "it's equally likely they killed each other. Couple of hot-heads."

Gaara turned to look at her, remembering tales he had heard of Tsunade's own past, but let the comment pass, returning his attention to the field, where Raiden was stirring. "I'm glad you invited me now, even if no one from Suna made it this far."

--------------------------------------------

Back on the field, Raiden managed to get to his hands and knees. "I feel like shit," he muttered. Looking up, he saw the massive crater where Hanabi had stood, still partially hidden by a haze of dust and smoke. Moving slowly, ignoring Asuma's stare, he crawled towards it, too tired to bother standing.

Slumping down at the edge, he considered the image before him. She was impacted into the ground, but not actually buried. Most of her was covered in chakra burns, of varying degree, her kunai holsters and hitai-ate missing, her clothes in tatters. She looked pulverized, and was not moving at all. But here eyes were open, and she was glaring at him.

The two of them stared at each other for a moment, then he said, "It was worth it. Worth it and more." Then he rolled over on his back, raising one clenched fist.

Behind him, he heard Asuma. "Winner, Kodachi Raiden." Which statement was immediately followed by a laconic, "Medics."

The medic-nin insisted on loading both of them onto stretchers, and Rumiko was with them before they even reached the exit from the arena floor. She was, to put it mildly, unhappy with him, both for his own condition, and for using a Thunderbolt on a fellow shinobi. Still, 'listening' to her did not prevent him from hearing Asuma announce the next round.

"Next victims, Saburo of the Mist & Mitarashi Mitsumi of the Leaf."


	20. 19 Fire & Fury

**Rise of the Guardians**

By Daishi Prime

- 19 – Fire & Fury -

------------------------------

Leaning her back against the rail of the observation deck, Mitsumi watched Saburo head down the passage to the stairs, and smiled. Reaching out, she told Hinata and Raiden, _wish me luck._ Neither of them responded, but she expected that.

While her opponent took the stairs, Mitsumi simply rolled backwards over the rail. It was a good fifteen meters down, but a chakra line to the railing took her weight easily. She dropped lightly to the ground, spun about, and was leaning against the wall beside the door before Saburo reached the arena floor. He checked slightly, on seeing her, and she grinned, "What kept you?" He grunted once in obvious annoyance, then strode past her, ignoring her presence.

She walked along behind him, hands cradling her head, elbows to the sides, whistling tunelessly. On one level, she had to admit she was nervous. This would be the first time she had seriously fought an opponent, instead of sparring. She discounted any missions, because Raiden and Hinata, and Yohko, had always been on-hand, immediate backup. This would be her first solo fight, and not having any backup made her just a little nervous.

At the same time, it was tremendously liberating. No more holding back, no more caution – just her skill, her strength and her Seal to see her through. No Raiden telling her to stop, no Hinata making her think, just the battle. After a month of training with Uzumaki and Hinata, she thought she had a better grip on the Seal's potentials than any of the others, a better idea of the limits, and from what the others had discovered in their researches, Saburo did not begin to measure up.

The two of them reached the center of the arena, where Asuma was standing. A few yards to one side, the crater Raiden and Hanabi had left was filling with sand, and the three of them watched for a moment. When it was done, on Asuma's direction, the three of them bowed to the Kazekage, who was settling back into his seat. Formalities concluded, Asuma said, "Right, that last fight was quick. A little short on the emotional control, not enough jutsus to really qualify. Let's try to do better this time, ne? Keep it clean, keep it true, and keep me out of it." He moved back, stopping halfway to the arena wall.

Mitsumi looked Saburo over carefully. He was standing confidently, one hand on his hip, the other dangling loose, head held at a slight angle. He was taller, wider, and probably stronger than she was, physically, but she was confident she had the advantage in speed. His chakra was still, calm, and worryingly plentiful. She could feel his gaze, radiating contempt, which set her teeth on edge. Despite his chakra and attitude, she decided that he was nothing to worry about. He obviously had no idea what he was up against.

"Tche, a kid, wonderful," Saburo muttered, disgust dripping from his tone. "Why don't you forfeit, girl. You can't beat me."

Mitsumi frowned, annoyed. "You have no idea what you're dealing with, do you? What'd you do, forget to research the other candidates? Got water on your brain or something?"

He grunted, "I know about your little seal, kid." Mitsumi tensed at that, and he chuckled, "yeah, you've got yourself a fancy curse-seal, probably think it makes you special or something. Bad news girl, no seal can match me. I've been a shinobi for years, I'm as good as any Jounin out there, more than enough to beat you into the ground. I saw what your teammate did to the Hyuuga girl, that was kinda cool, but just like kids, they both popped off their biggest tricks too early, weakened themselves needlessly. Stupid moves."

"Urusai," Mitsumi muttered, "you have no idea what the two of them were doing."

"Screwing up by the numbers."

She laughed, she could not help it. He claimed to be a Jounin, but was so obtuse he had missed how personal their fight was for both Hanabi and Raiden. Shaking her head, she informed him, "You're not a Jounin-level opponent. Just another arrogant Genin about to get whipped."

"We'll see, girl. You really should just surrender, go home and play with your dolls, maybe. But if you want me to hurt you first, I'm fine with that, too."

------------------------------

Projecting a calm appearance while watching Mitsumi stroll along behind the Mist-nin was difficult for Hinata. Since the binding, she had felt far more protective of Mitsumi, the wild one who got herself into more trouble than all the others combined. On top of that she was very nervous to see if the last month of hard work would pay off. She felt like she was being tested again, which was entirely possible considering her father.

"Mah, this guy's nothing to worry about," Naruto stated grandly, leaning back in an ostentatious display of confidence. "Mitsumi'll clean his clock, you'll see."

"Saburo, orphan from the Hidden Village of Mist, called Hachiman Saburo," Sasuke said, "Second Son of the God of War. He didn't get that name by being a push-over, Naruto. Just like he's saying, he'll beat her. Raiden might have given him trouble, but Mitsumi won't."

Crossing his arms and hunching forward, Naruto grumbled, "Mitsumi'll kick his ass."

"How much do you know of him, Uchiha-san?"

If Hiashi's question surprised Sasuke, no trace of it showed. "Nothing personally. But I checked up on each of the candidates. Saburo's got a bad reputation – Jounin skills, Genin mentality. Actually, I've heard some rumors that he's worse, mentally speaking."

"He has been considered for Chunin rank fourteen times," Hiashi told them, "and rejected each time. It will be interesting to see if he has finally figured out why. He seemed almost ready the last time he was here, two years ago."

Hinata could not believe her ears, "Fourteen times?" _Can Mitsumi handle someone that experienced?_

"Being Chunin requires more than simple jutsus, Hinata. Hachiman Saburo has yet to demonstrate that 'more'. If he does today, the Mitarashi girl will probably be defeated. If he does not, I would give your student an even chance."

------------------------------

Mitsumi leapt away from Saburo, straight back, hands flowing through defensive positions. She wanted range, to see what he was doing before being caught in it. She could tell, as he began forming seals, that he was seriously more efficient with his chakra than anyone she had faced on her missions, though she thought Anko, Kakashi and Hinata were better. She had not had to fight _them_, however.

Saburo also moved back, though more slowly. Focused on him, it took Mitsumi a few moments to realize that her vision was hazing over, more distant people becoming difficult to see. _A chakra cloud?_ She asked the question mentally, then answered it as she felt dampness in the air, _Of course, Mist-nin. But it's not perfect. I can still see him. And his clones._ The latter were forming slowly, far enough away in the chakra-laden mist to keep her from getting an accurate count. _Well, he's not the only one that can play games to mess with vision._ Her hands were flowing through the kata before the thought occurred to her, and she vanished into her Cloak of Light.

The world took on a sharper, clearer view, as she folded her chakra about herself, the distortion her own aura caused fading slightly as it regularized. She shifted sideways, ghosting between two clones that were closing on her old position. Skirting the gathering crowd of clones, she moved well out and around, getting behind Saburo easily. She still could not move quickly, not and remain invisible, but she had all the time in the world.

The clones were casting about now, looking for her. Saburo had not moved, standing in guard, head turning slowly back and forth as he, too, tried to locate her. Mitsumi almost gave herself away by laughing at him, but managed to restrain herself as she floated in towards his unguarded rear. Once she was close enough, she paused for a moment, confirming her balance, then leapt, lunging forward and putting everything she had into a fast hard punch aimed at the back of his neck.

Saburo's head was perfectly centered in her vision, and then it disappeared. She realized in an instant that he was aware, and tried to shift her leading arm down, but he had dropped and spun too quickly, and his fist slammed into her stomach. Her breath exploded out, as pain blossomed in her gut, and then she was flying through the air. She curled up around her wound, almost not feeling it for the shock. _He saw me! He saw me! How the hell did he see me?_

She hit the ground hard, rolling several yards further than she had flown, but the impact brought her out of her surprise, and Saburo's strike had not been accurate enough to be crippling. She came out of the roll on her feet, converting the last roll into two snap-kicks, which both stopped Saburo's follow-up and flipped her to her feet. Saburo was on her before she could fully recover, spinning like a top through a round-house aimed at her hip. She took advantage of the height difference to duck beneath it, ram her fist into the back of his thigh, noticing only as he vanished that it was a clone.

Two more near enough to be worrisome, charging in from opposite sides. She spun left, hands flickering through a pair of blocks followed by another reverse handspring. Her foot caught the clone in the chin, dispersing it, and the spring, held until she was almost face-first in the dirt, slammed her _through_ the second as it tried to take her from behind.

"Yeah, cute trick girl, but I've seen better stealth jutsu out of my kid brother. You stick out like a sore thumb. I told you, go home."

_The mist,_ she realized too late, _it's reacting to my chakra. Kuso, Cloak of Light's useless unless I can get rid of it. Burn it off? No, I have to save that for Raiden. So, I need to hide where I can't, and strike someone I'm having trouble finding. Got to get rid of the mist, first._ _Can't see through it, can't hide in it, need to get out of it._ Then she had a flash of insight, _it's mist. Mist is low-level, close to the ground. Maybe I can get above it._

She turned and bolted for the wall. Behind her, she could see clones moving to pursue, and what she thought was Saburo himself at a somewhat greater distance. But Mitsumi was the second fastest of the Guardians, and Saburo did not even come close to reaching her. She got close enough, and threw a kunai, putting far more energy into it than she should have. Her chakra sharpened the tip, strengthened her arm, and tied it to her by a thin line. A second later she leapt after it, hearing the un-musical twang as it sank into the concrete wall some twenty meters up, and felt the mist fall away and the sun on her skin again. She hoped the kunai was in deep enough as she landed a few meters below it.

------------------------------

"I'm rather impressed with his chakra control," Sasuke commented, when the mist rose around the two combatants to fill the entire arena floor to a three meter height. "The blind girl's rather obvious, too."

Sure enough, while Saburo had vanished into his own mist, Mitsumi's position was quite clear. The chakra-laden water vapor was swirling about her, glowing ever so slightly as it reacted to her presence. Hinata shook her head, "I hope Mitsumi notices. She needs to disperse this if she's going to use her most effective jutsus."

Next to her, Naruto was nodding, "Hmm, She'll have to call up some fire to get rid of this."

"She won't notice," Juubei muttered, "none of us would. It's too much a part of us, and we've never encountered anything like this mist before. After this, we'll be aware, but Mitsumi's not so quick at picking things up on the field."

Hinata nodded, watching as the swirling disturbance that marked Mitsumi's position flowed through the mist, paused, and lunged. She knew, before Mitsumi's arcing flight almost brought her out of the mist, that the attack failed, and for a moment she almost reached out to make sure her sister was all right. She stopped herself, however, then had to stop herself from growling at Saburo's insulting comments.

A moment later, the crowd gasped as a glowing blue kunai flashed up out of the mist, followed momentarily by Mitsumi herself. The blade struck the wall and sank into it, and Mitsumi hit the wall, clinging to a line of nothing two meters down the wall. She reached up, and Hinata smiled as she saw the girl fiddling with her hitai-ate.

Naruto was the first to comment, "What's she doing?"

"She modified her hitai-ate a few weeks ago," Hinata said, "a removable cut-out. Now that she knows her eyes work, she claims that covering them helps her focus better. I think she likes how intimidating it makes her look." Sure enough, Mitsumi was pulling the metal band down, settling it over her nose until both her eyes were covered, tightening it behind her head one-handed.

"She used to do the same thing with blacked-out goggles," Juubei offered, "when she got angry. Sure sign to stop immediately, she's not the calmest of people to begin with."

"Why does she not use chakra to stick to the wall," Hiashi asked, "given their other demonstrations, such a skill should not be beyond her."

Hinata shook her head, "None of us can, father. We are surrounded by too much chakra. We can manage the control, but the chakra aura disrupts such delicate effects. We cannot stand on water, either. It is something we are working on, especially Kakashi's team."

------------------------------

Pulling the cloth tight about her eyes did help Mitsumi focus, though she would never admit that the effect was entirely mental. She also knew of her reputation for having a temper, and smiled as she thought of Juubei no doubt worrying right now. She was angry, but as the link had changed Hinata, she knew it had changed her, as well, and her anger was well in check. She just did not want anyone else to realize that. She had an image to maintain, after all.

Below her, Saburo called up, "What, you advertise now? I already knew you were blind, girl. Stop showing off and go home, already. I need to conserve my chakra for bigger challenges."

She snarled a little, that stung. She knew she was one of the biggest challenges here, and was looking forward to proving it against the only one bigger, Raiden. But she had to get rid of Saburo first. Scanning the mist below, she could make out the gathered clones below her, spread out in a 'random' pattern that covered most of her possible landing sites. Even better, as she pushed her jutsu harder, she thought she could make out Saburo himself. _Have to get higher to reach him, though. Top of the wall? Yeah, I can make that._

She rolled over, looking up now, instead of down. Walls, and other inanimate objects, were always difficult to make out for her. She could only reliably see them due to what they hid. But here and now, she was almost beneath the northern tier of seats, which gave her plenty of chakra signatures to read, and there was the end of the tiers, there the column. _Twenty-four, twenty-five meters, I can swing that._

The crowd was surprised again when her hand lashed out in their direction, but there was no kunai this time. The line of chakra was invisible, until its arcing flight caused it to wrap around the support column for the tier's roof. The wood cladding around the concrete pillar cracked when the line went tight, then cracked again she her weight hit it.

She dropped, releasing the line holding her to the kunai and accelerating along the wall. The clones shifted, and two threw kunai, but he failed to anticipate that her path would arc. She reached the low point, actually back in the mist momentarily, then momentum and her anchor had her swinging up. Running along the wall as fast as she could, she accelerated, then leapt, releasing the line of chakra at the same time. Flying clear, she rolled in flight and slammed down hard on the rail, crouching and grabbing it with one hand to keep from going over backwards.

The crowd that had begun muttering with her drop fell silent as she arced through the air, so the rustle of cloth was perfectly clear. "Relax, Nara-kun," she told the ANBU standing between her and the two Kage's, "I'm not after anyone up here." Refocusing her attention, she ignored the gathered shinobi in front of her, and the rising mutterings of the crowd. Now, more than thirty meters above the floor of the arena, she could see all of it, and the angle cleared most of the mist. She smiled, and sang out, "I see you, mist-nin."

"I've been able to see you all along, girl. If you're going to run away, just give it up already."

She laughed aloud at that, "I only run from those who're strong enough to make me. You don't qualify. Kami-sama, the view from here is incredible. You've turned out to be such a prettily breakable bishi. I'm going to enjoy this." Letting herself fall backward around the rail, bending her neck back until her head was upside down. The sense of impending fall was exhilarating, and she needed that, needed the wildness of it, to try what she going to. It only took her a second, as Saburo tried to get further away from her, and she was ready.

Focusing her chakra into her legs, she jerked her arm taught to lever herself almost upright again, then let go. Lunging hard, she felt the rail fail, cracking, but it was solid enough that she was airborne, arcing upwards in a massive leap that took her halfway across the arena before she reached apex. Part of her reveled in it, the sensation of floating totally free. As she had told Hinata, she had always wanted to fly, and moments like this were as close as she could get.

Most of her attention was focused on Saburo, however. He shifted a few meters sideways as soon as she jumped, far enough to clear her impact point, but close enough to attack when she landed. Mitsumi tracked his motion while she rolled in flight, and pulled her jacket wide. It was no parachute, but it slowed her fall slightly and amplified her attempts to direct her flight, at least until she reached apex. Then, focused on her target, she shed the jacket entirely, folding her arms back and letting the wind whip it away. Plummeting fast, she swung her arms forward again, spiraling chakra about her hands. Like most of her jutsus, this one required a combination of precision and wildness, and forming it while controlling this sort of fall and aiming at her target was... difficult. Even so, before she was halfway down, fire wreathed both her hands.

Saburo appeared to be as shocked as the rest of the audience. Even for a shinobi, a fall from this height was deadly dangerous. He did mange to roll sideways at the last second, but she still managed to twist into him, completing the jutsu with a shouted, "Fire hammer!" Neither hand hit as the mist-nin twisted away, pulling mist in to shield himself, but they did not need to. The fire wrapped around both her hands exploded outward, washing over both of them in a wave that was not quite an explosion, drowning out the world in roaring heat that scorched the sand, but did nothing more than warm her.

Mitsumi was expecting it, had planned for it. The sudden burst of energy threw her sideways, altering her high-speed dive into a tumbling landing. She came up in a three-point stance, sliding a few meters further, and smiled as the mist faded into the ground. Saburo was on the ground, shifting slowly, and Mitsumi's grin widened as she charged. Slow meant vulnerable, and she saw a chance to end this now.

------------------------------

Gaara watched the girl charge up the side of the arena, and leaned over to whisper. "You do know where she's going to wind up, don't you?"

Tsunade cracked a slight smile and chuckled. "Yes. Don't worry, she's deadly, but not serious."

Nevertheless, when Mitsumi let go of the nothing that was arcing her race along the wall, the two Suna ANBU and two Konoha ANBU on duty shifted instantly to stand between their Kage's and the inbound kunoichi. She landed hard, crouched on the rail, face down, and muttered, "Relax, Nara-kun, I'm not after anyone up here."

Intrigued that she could recognize an ANBU despite his mask and cloak, Gaara took the opportunity to study her closely. She had already demonstrated speed and dexterity, and the strange effect of her chakra on the mist had been interesting to watch. Up close, he noted her wiry build, low supply of normal weapons and, most tellingly, the utter calm with which she stood over a thirty plus meter drop. As she rolled backwards, he quirked an eyebrow, half tempted to slip some sand under her grip.

While she exchanged insults with Saburo, Gaara gestured, withdrawing his own guards. He leaned over to Tsunade, "I do not care for him. Taunting an opponent is one thing, but..."

"Hachiman Saburo has an attitude problem," Tsunade replied, "specifically, with kunoichi, though it does express itself more generally. It has kept him from the rank he thinks he deserves, which has only made his attitude worse."

Gaara watched as Mitsumi leapt, "Is she going to kill herself?"

"I told you, Gaara-kun, these kids are insane. My bet is, she has two more of those chakra-ropes tied to points around the arena."

"No," Gaara watched her motion, watched her redirect her flight, then shed the jacket. As she accelerated, fire appeared around her hands, and he nodded. "Explosive re-direction. Can she survive it?"

Tsunade nodded, "Mitsumi has a strange immunity to fire. Her Jounin report that she has developed several fire jutsus, and has yet to get burned by one. Fire jutsus used by others can burn her, but her own fire never turns on its master. Useful, if we can figure out how she does it."

The impact was impressive, a massive lopsided sphere of flame that engulfed both candidates, Saburo more than Mitsumi. They were both blasted clear of it, tumbling along the ground, but the girl landed on her feet, while Saburo stopped face down and took a moment to move. Gaara saw the shift in the girl's stance, and shook his head as she began her charge. "Impulsive," he criticized, "he may be hurt now, but he is still fully functional."

"True," Tsunade agreed, "But that's why we put them in this year. To teach them that they are not as powerful as they think."

"It hasn't worked yet," Gaara countered, remembering the previous match. "Maybe we should be the ones down there fighting them. Might be a challenge."

"You can't be serious."

"I've spent the last year doing paperwork. I haven't killed anyone in months. I'm getting rusty."

"The fight with Hanabi really does further my goal. Hanabi's only a Genin, yet she came close to winning that fight. We'll see how Mitsumi does."

------------------------------

"Kami-sama, how much time did you two work on that?" Juubei commented, "I don't remember Fire Hammer – blowing up – quite that much."

Hinata shook her head and started to answer, but Naruto beat her to the punch, laughing uproariously, "We didn't! Never touched it! Only worked on one jutsu, the whole time." He settled down to merely chuckling, and added, "I hope she uses it. It's awesome."

"She will save it for Raiden," Hinata countered, watching Mitsumi's charge. "Fire Hammer, all her fire jutsus, were improved because the jutsu we worked on is based on her summons, fire, as are all her other fire jutsus."

"It must be rather complicated, if that one jutsu improved all her others," Hiashi commented.

"Complicated in theory, but simpler in execution." Hinata explained, then smiled fondly, "Flashy, temperamental and destructive, it's Mitsumi to a 'T'."

------------------------------

Saburo was slow to rise, still bent over and staggering as Mitsumi closed. She pulled out a pair of kunai, one in each hand, and lunged the last couple of meters. Only to watch Saburo leap straight up, spinning like a top. She had a second to curse and drop into a roll of her own, but he still managed to slap her as she went by, right on her rear.

The shock of it, not so much _getting _hit as what and how he hit her, sent her sprawling. It also sent a spike of rage through her. She had not recovered her feet before she heard Saburo roaring out, "Suiton Bakushouha!" A moment later a tremendous roar had her trying to roll to her feet, only to be slammed backwards by a wall of water.

She tumbled through it, half out of breath from the surprise, struggling vainly for the surface. She bounced off the ground a few times, and she thought she hit the tree in one corner, but eventually what stopped her was the arena wall. Which at least gave her a solid direction, and she lunged upward. She broke the surface with a gasp, dropping underwater again for a moment before reaching equilibrium, just her head bobbing on the surface. Blinking through the water dripping in her eyes, she could see Saburo standing on top of the water halfway across the arena. Asuma was similarly standing on the fluid surface, leaning comfortably against the arena's main doors.

"I told you, girl, my skills are Jounin level. You can't hope to beat me. I noticed, with your little wall-crawling stunt, that you can't stick to a wall. That means you probably can't walk on water, either, can you? Which means this match is now mine. Surrender, girl, go home. Breaking you isn't worth my time."

Mitsumi growled. She hated being wet, hated being in water like this, it did nothing but make her cold and uncomfortable. Having someone as insulting and aggravating as Saburo put her here, on top of his last 'attack', was too much. She did not even think of surrendering. _He'll pay for this,_ she promised herself, _I'm going to humiliate the bastard._

He was standing in the exact center of the arena, on top of about three meters of water. He was relaxed, confident, and perfectly willing to wait for her. _I can't get rid of this much water, not even with that jutsu. He's a better swimmer than me,_ that much was obvious just from self-knowledge, _and he still has a lot of chakra left. He can maneuver freely, I'm going to be stuck anchored to the wall, or flailing about down here. I've got to slow him..._ Her thoughts stumbled to a halt, and then she smiled viciously as an idea formed. _Sorry Raiden,_ the link was still blocked, so he wouldn't hear, but she apologized anyway, _I know you said never to do this, but it should be fun._

She sucked in a breath, then dove, swimming, poorly, towards Saburo's position. She had to surface halfway to him, and he was still standing there, smirking at her. When she came up again, he looked her in the eye, then shook his head, "Brainless girl. You're just dragging this..." She cut him off by the simple expedient of diving again, forming her chakra into a pair of ropes, letting them trail behind her.

_He'll come down,_ she thought, _try to grapple. I'll have to time it perfectly, to catch him before he catches me. He won't be able to break these ropes, I can take my time beating him like a drum. _Sure enough, a shadow passed over her and she felt the disturbance in the water. She rolled, as quick as she could, and flung out both ropes towards the figure plummeting towards her.

Only to realize there were five. Two vanished as her ropes wrapped around them and pulled tight, but she was too slow underwater, she could not get the lines of chakra around again before the remaining three were on top of her. She lashed out, but where her movements were fighting the liquid environment, the three Saburos flowed with it. She managed to catch one with a wild flail as he tried to grapple her arm, another with a twisting jab as he grabbed her leg, but the last, the real one, got behind her. One arm snaked around her throat, as she tried too late to strike him, followed by a knee shoving into the small of her back.

To Mitsumi's surprise, he did not hold her under until she drowned. That would have left her with leverage. He drove the two of them to the surface, ignoring her attempts to struggle free. His grip on her neck was too tight, and he was holding her too far from his head, so she could not get at him that way. Her arms were free, but under water she could not get momentum, and once in the air, he wrapped his free arm around her, pinning her arms. The knee he left in the small of her back, which left her legs hanging, again with no leverage.

"You may as well call the match, Jounin," he sang out, insultingly confident, "she'll be out cold in a minute or so."

Mitsumi could not see Asuma from her position, only the stands, where she could make out Hinata, Juubei, Kuma, Rumiko, and Naruto, the five of them drowning out the chakra signatures of the rest of the crowd. She could feel Hinata's eyes on her, and a burning shame rose in her as she realized she couldn't get free. She felt him shift, right arm sliding higher, and then he whispered in her ear, "you didn't have a chance, girl. Too arrogant, too stupid, too young. Tche, you're not even old enough to make grappling fun. Should've stayed home and played with your dolls."

------------------------------

Hinata watched Mitsumi dive, watched Saburo form his water-clones, and felt the crowd shift as it made its decision. Watching her sister lifted out of the water after such a defeat, she could only sigh, anticipating Mitsumi's reaction after the fight. Saburo's latest comment drew a quite rumble of protest, and Hinata took some satisfaction in that. Regardless of how far he progressed in the tournament, his attitude here had cost him the rank he so obviously desired.

Then she saw him whisper something in Mitsumi's ear, and for the first time, something came through the link despite her block – blinding rage. She gasped with the shock of it, doubling over in surprise, her own body reacting to Mitsumi's anger as her own. Blindly, ignoring the questions of both her families, she fumbled for Raiden, finding him doing the same. The contact, the mutual reinforcement, gave her the stability to fight off Mitsumi's anger, to force it to the back of her mind.

Getting control back, she looked up in time to see Mitsumi's right hand go straight up, fist clenched. The girls voice cut through the arena, a raging shriek, "_Kuchiyose no jutsu_!"

"Cover your eyes!" Hinata surprised even herself with her command, but she continued, "No Byakugan, no Sharingan! Don't look at her directly!"

Mitsumi overrode the questions with another shriek, and Hinata felt a thrill of both excitement and terror, as her sister finished the jutsu they had spent the last month developing, "_Become the Flame!_"

It began as a gout of flame from her Seal, a meter long spike of red-hot energy that rapidly spiraled down around her, engulfing Saburo as well. Before it reached her feet, her entire arm was gone. By the time it touched the water beneath them, sending up a cloud of steam, Saburo was screaming and no one could see into the conflagration below. Some of the crowd were panicking, fearing the growing column of fire, but most merely sat and watched in mingled awe and fear.

Hiashi, alone of everyone around Hinata, kept his composure, "What is she doing?"

"Become the Flame," Hinata repeated, "A summoning jutsu, where she wreathes herself in a fire-spirit. Her chakra provides it fuel, her body an anchor. It provides her with both defense and attack."

"But there was no blood," Sasuke objected, "Kuchiyose _requires_ blood."

"There is blood," Hinata said, watching as the pillar of flame grew, now white-hot. Its lower reaches were lost in the steam, the water around it now boiling as Mitsumi threw off terrible heat, filling the arena with a rising cloud of steam. Even from the stands, the heat could be felt in waves, beating on the crowd. "There is blood in our bodies, in the Seal. All one of us needs is knowledge of how to shape the chakra, knowledge of what we summon, and the will to do it. Mitsumi was the first of us to do it, and has the best understanding of it."

Naruto tapped her shoulder, "Um, Hinata? She isn't stopping. She's never gone this long before..."

Still looking at her sister, reaching for her with Raiden, Hinata nodded, "She can't. She has gone berserk. Whatever Saburo did, whatever he said, she is lost in her anger."

Juubei, Kuma and Rumiko gasped behind her, almost in unison, and Juubei asked, "Is she going to..."

"No, she is still Mitsumi. But... Raiden and I are having trouble reaching her. She is... too angry, too enraged."

The water level was slowly dropping, now, Saburo's lake vaporizing under the ravening column of flame in the center of the arena. The tree to one side was aflame from reaction, and from tendrils of flame leaping off Mitsumi's aura. Even Asuma, now sheltered in the frame of the main gates, had a hand over his face and had sunk into the water to avoid the heat.

Inside, Hinata struggled against the rage. She knew it was a violation of her promise to Anko, a violation of their agreement, but she and Raiden both knew that Mitsumi would not return without them. They battled the rage, in ways she could not describe, siphoning it off, damping it down. Images, sounds, emotions, all of them rolled over her, all of them Mitsumi's. She took each one and countered it, throwing back anything she could find to calm her sister. Training, talking, the siblings, everything she could find, she threw into the maelstrom of Mitsumi's mind.

Finally, gasping with the strain, she and Raiden reached the raging heart of Mitsumi's mind. She was one with her anger, but struggling to control it. When the two of them reached her, and brought her into the link consciously once more. Between the three of them, they finally brought her back under control. Slowly, as her rage was damped, the flames began dying.

------------------------------

Mitsumi slowly drew the flame back into herself. The last touch of the flame spirit warmed away the last chill of the water, and she felt its thanks at her letting it loose, and its disappointment at not being allowed to rampage longer. The fire died around her, leaving a knee-deep layer of water over the arena.

When the last of the flame dissipated, ghosting away from her, she stood standing in the lake, panting and shivering with reaction. She had known she had a temper, known she was the most violent of the Guardians, but this had been the first time she had truly lost control, and she could not decide if she liked it, or feared it. The bone-deep tiredness from powering the justu for so long made the shaking worse.

A moment later, as the crowd began to rustle again, she looked up, right at Asuma. He had just begun walking towards her from the gate, but stopped when he saw her. Holding up her left hand, she showed him the scorched, half-melted plate it held. "Call the match, please, Asuma-san."

As the crowd grew louder, realizing there was no sign of Hachiman Saburo anywhere within the confines of the arena, Asuma announced, "Winner, Mitarashi Mitsumi."

She nodded, then dropped to her knees, slumping, utterly exhausted. She could not even get up the energy to protest when Shizune picked her up to carry her into the arena's medical wing.

------------------------------

Suiton Bakushouha (Water Seal Aquatic Shockwave): One of Kisame's jutsus (used by the Sasori's subordinate imitating Kisame, when he battled Gai's team in the manga, chapter 256), to turn the terrain to his advantage. The user spits out a tremendous amount of water, creating an instant flood in any given area. Given a closed area, it forms a static lake. The more chakra the user has, and the more they put into the jutsu, the larger the volume of water created.


	21. 20 Hidden & Lost

**Rise of the Guardians**

By Daishi Prime

- 20 – Hidden & Lost -

The medical wing of the Arena was one of the largest enclosed spaces _in_ the Arena, though very few ever had occasion to realize it. Prowling the hallways behind the concrete walls, Raiden measured their size quite precisely. By rights, he should have returned to the observation bay, with the other candidates, as soon as Rumiko, with Sakura's supervision, declared him fit to continue. But that journey had been interrupted by Mitsumi, and now he stalked the corridors near the room she had been taken to, waiting for permission to see her.

The fight against Saburo had tested his self-control more severely than he had expected. The fact that he had been unable to actually see any of it was what began his problems. What made matters unbearable was the fact that, unlike Hinata, he had not maintained the block on the link, once he was off the field, and neither he nor Mitsumi could match the totality of Hinata's block. While he had not been able to reach Mitsumi, he had felt each spike of emotion, and the last mingling of shame and anger had almost driven him onto the field. When she snapped, it had taken everything he and Hinata had to get her back under control. Now, however, Mitsumi was again blocking the link, and this time there were no highly-charged emotions to leak through, which left him pacing, unable to determine what was happening to his sister.

_Relax, Raiden,_ Hinata advised. _Unlike you, she was not injured, merely exhausted. She is physically fine, but she killed someone, Raiden. That will take her some time to deal with._

_She's killed before._ He knew the difference between that time and this one, even as he said it, but...

_Not like this,_ Hinata reminded him. _Hanabi's rescue was a mission, she interrupted a running combat, and killed to protect her teammates and siblings from an immediate and deadly threat. This... killing Saburo was personal, solitary. She made the decision to do it, took the action herself. There was no Anko standing behind her telling her it was necessary and good, no threat to her teammates or siblings to necessitate it. It was her own anger, triggered by a foolish shinobi, nothing more._

_We could tell her all that, if she would just let us in,_ Raiden countered, _or if these idiot medics would get out of my way._

_They have their jobs to do, let them. Mitsumi will let us in again when she is ready to. I know you are worried, but forcing her will only make matters worse._

Raiden finally stopped pacing, slumping against he wall outside Mitsumi's room instead. _Fine, fine,_ he acquiesced, but still the worry burned away.

------------------------------

Hinata shook her head, sensing Raiden's continued agitation. He just could not accept someone else taking care of one of his siblings. Hinata herself was calmer. She knew that Mitsumi was in control again, knew the younger girl would bounce back from her battle with Saburo relatively quickly. She also realized that Raiden had grown dependant on the link, on its sense of connection and the ability it provided to keep track of herself and Mitsumi. He was not this bad with the other Guardians, this massively overprotective, but she wondered if he would be, were all seven of them linked.

He did worry about the rest of them, though. She waited, counting the seconds, and he met her expectations with a question ten seconds later. _How's Yohko doing?_

She smiled, looking out over the arena. She had moved, while Shizune recovered Mitsumi and the Arena was drained, to stand at one of the side walls, looking across the Arena at the observation bay. Yohko was at the rail, and the two of them had been signing back and forth. Between them, Jiro and a second Mist-nin, Abe Ryu, engaged in the fourth match. Distantly, Hinata felt sorry for the two, having to follow such an exciting and flamboyant pair of matches. _She is fine,_ Hinata answered, _worried about both of you, but her usual patient self._

_You made your point,_ Raiden grumbled, _don't rub it in. Let her know I'm fine? Rumiko's very good, though I'm not sure I like being her lesson subject. Sakura was in here while she worked on me, critiquing Blood of the Immortal while Rumiko patched me up. Crazy pink-haired sadist._

Hinata passed the message, then smiled at Yohko's response. If they are truly fine, why is he not back here?

Because he is stubborn and meddlesome, Hinata replied. Another part of her attention asked Raiden, _Where is Rumiko? If she has finished with you, why hasn't she come back here?_

True, Yohko agreed, he cannot stand not knowing everything that's going on.

_She wanted to check on Hanabi. Sakura was fine with it, so I saw no reason not to._

That surprised Hinata, that he would let one of the Guardians help a Hyuuga outside of orders. _That's... surprising._

_Yeah, well, she asked. And while I dislike the older generation, the youngsters don't bother me as much, and your sister's going to inherit the Clan. We talked, before Mitsumi went berserk. Do you know why she was so eager to fight me?_

Hinata could not help sighing again, reminded of a simmering problem she kept managing to forget. _Me,_ she answered a moment later.

_You,_ Raiden agreed. _According to her, she was finally getting to know you, and then along we came and 'stole' you. Kinda hard to argue with her on this one, Onee-san. Your father, Neiji, them we'll argue the point with, but Hanabi? We'd lose that one, we'd have to, if we mean anything we've said or done these past few years._

_Did she pass your exam? _He hesitated, and she smiled at his surprise. _You aren't that hard to read, Raiden. It was obvious even to Mitsumi that you two were more interested in testing each other than in the Chunin Exam. I think even Naruto noticed._

_She passed this one,_ Raiden offered after another pause, _but there'll be more. There always are, for anyone in a position of power._

_Even you? Us?_

_Especially us,_ his reply was serious, but his next statement was almost whimsical,_ I have no idea if I passed Hanabi's exam, though. Your sister's got that inscrutable look down pretty good, when she's not wearing her heart on her sleeve._

_She is a Hyuuga. We learn it young._

Before he could reply, Hinata felt a mental touch, and met Mitsumi halfway. The younger girl was still shaken, but seemed to be getting a hold of herself. Mitsumi's mental voice was softer than normal, lacking most of the energy and enthusiasm she normally projected. _Onee-san? A... are you okay? I just wanted to know, I... I thought you might've been hurt... getting me back?_

_I'm fine,_ Hinata reassured her, _So is Raiden, now that Rumiko's done with him. You didn't do that, though – Hanabi did._

Mitsumi chuckled weakly, _I remember everything, Onee-san. I just... wasn't sure. I need to think about..._

_You did nothing wrong, Mitsumi,_ Hinata tried to project as much reassurance and confidence into that as she could, _nothing wrong at all._

_I know,_ Mitsumi seemed to take heart, but was still down, _but I still killed someone today. I need to think it over... mostly the 'why' of it._

_Will you be ready for the next round?_

_Yeah, I'll be there. But..._

_I'll make sure Raiden leaves you alone,_ Hinata promised, feeling Mitsumi pull back. Mitsumi blocked the link again, and Hinata turned her attention to her brother, _Raiden, go back to the observation bay. Mitsumi's ok, just needs some time to collect herself before the next round. I'll talk with her some more. _

_But I'm right..._

_Go,_ Hinata ordered, _I will talk with her. _He did not reply, and Hinata shook her head. "Stubborn boy," she muttered.

"Do I need to go down there, you think?" Anko's voice at her shoulder was a complete surprise, causing her to lunge sideways and back, almost take a swing and, most embarrassingly, squeak. Anko just chuckled, grinning at her. "Well?"

"Ah... no, Anko, not yet," Hinata assured her, recovering from the surprise and settling down. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Yohko signing, I _told_ you she was there. Hinata shook her head roughly to clear it, then elaborated, "Raiden should be on his way back up now."

"What about Mitsumi? How's she doing?"

Hinata was conscious of a number of people listening, and not just her family and those sitting with them. The nobles nearby were also listening closely. Unwilling to discuss her sister openly in front of such an audience, Hinata replied, "Mitsumi will be ready for the next round. She's resting."

Anko quirked an eye, but she had seen Hinata's gaze sweep over the audience. She nodded, then pulled Hinata in close and shoved her back towards her seat. In a loud voice, she rebuked the Chunin, "Don't go wandering, Hina-chan! It makes it harder to keep an eye on you. Anyone could've been hanging over that roof edge just waiting to take a swing at you!" The command was only half mocking, the other half was quite serious.

Hinata hung her head slightly, but countered, "The Hokage and Kazekage are sitting right there, Anko, with ANBU guards. No one could have been standing there who was not a Konoha shinobi."

"Not the point! Learn from the gaki, paranoia should be a constant state of mind! Besides, if you go wandering, Kakashi and I'll have to split up, and that'll mean actually working, 'stead of lounging around in the stands, ne?"

Hinata could not help smiling at her sensei's antics, "Hai, Anko."

------------------------------

Watching Hinata head back to her seat, Yohko shifted to lean against the concrete wall at the edge of the observation bay. If Hinata was moving back, at least one of the others was on their way back, possibly both. Once they were here, she could get the whole story. Something had set Mitsumi off, something Saburo had done, but Yohko could not figure out what. Which left her with nothing to do but debate her teammates' matches.

She had been surprised by Raiden's willingness in his match to utilize the Thunderbolt at all, let alone a newer, more dangerous version. She had expected him to save that for Mitsumi, or even herself, people he knew could counter it. To use it on Hanabi, especially when the two of them seemed to be getting along so well, had been a surprise. It was not until the two of them were being carried off the field that she realized it was a gesture of respect for Hanabi – he had trusted her to survive it. All in all, she was quite happy with that fight's outcome, since it both foreshadowed a Hyuuga the Guardians could work with, and showed that Raiden was beginning to trust those outside the Guardians.

Mitsumi's match was much more problematical. While she knew most of the nobles above would enjoy the flashier exchange of jutsus, and Mitsumi's wild maneuvers, Yohko knew her sister, and found reading Saburo to be relatively simple after learning to read Anko and Kakashi. Of the two candidates, only Mitsumi had shown any joy in her fight, and that had faded, first into annoyance and then into outright anger. Her final jutsu, that terrible burst of fire, had been a surprise, and not a pleasant one. Yohko was familiar enough with the idea, she had helped Hinata and Mitsumi refine the Guardians' kuchiyose before the exam began, and recognized immediately that more than chakra was fueling it. Hinata's reassurances had helped, but still Yohko was worried.

"Excuse me? Iraisen-san? Can I talk to you a moment?"

The voice surprised her, jerking her out of her reverie. She found the last Mist-nin, one Maeda Akane, looking at her from a couple meters away. "Hai, what is it, Maeda-san?"

The woman, not much older than Yohko, but nonetheless, older, stepped closer. "I felt we should discuss something before our match."

Yohko cocked her head sideways, "Your teammate's conduct against mine."

Akane nodded slowly, "Yes. Saburo was... difficult, at the best of times. He had some strange opinions, and bad habits. I worked with him for over a year now, because whatever his problems, he is... was almost as skilled as he thought, and he was never actually in command."

Yohko thought she could tell where this was going, and based on the woman's discomfort, realized what Saburo had done to so anger Mitsumi. "You wish to distance yourself from his actions." Maeda blinked, obviously surprised by Yohko's abruptness, so Yohko continued, "I assure you, Maeda-san, that Mitsumi answered him quite well enough for all of us. I hold no grudge against any other Mist-nin for the actions of one man. He was fortunate, actually, in that she gave him a clean death. Knowing my brothers, had Mitsumi left him alive, they would have been far longer in ending him."

Akane looked offended for a moment, then obviously thought over what she had seen Yohko's teammates accomplish in their matches. "What happened between our teammates was only between them, then?"

"Agreed, Maeda-san."

She nodded, then backed off, retreating to the far edge of the observation bay's rail. A moment later, Raiden came up the stairs, walking over slowly to watch the end of Jiro's match. "How's he doing," Raiden asked.

"I have not been paying attention, I am afraid," Yohko admitted, also shifting her gaze to the match. Both candidates were looking worn and bruised, but she thought Jiro looked the worse for the match. Ryu was drawing the paired hook-swords he had left on his back for the entire match, and Yohko nodded. "Thought it looks like Jiro is out. I feel sorry for him, Hanabi will not be pleased to discover that."

"You predicted it," Raiden reminded her. "According to your research, Hanabi was the only member of her team with single-combat experience. The other two were too heavily trained as a team."

"It is still sad," Yohko persisted. "Hanabi and her team did extremely well to progress this far, yet they will be seen as a footnote at best."

"Which will spur them on to do better next time." He grinned suddenly, "She's already sworn to beat me in the next Chunin exam."

"What if you pass?"

He shook his head, "I won't. Wasn't trying, against Hanabi, and it showed. The nobles may not know much about the inner workings of the shinobi world, but they know when someone's too focused on the trees to see the forest. The shinobi judges will know exactly what I was doing, and won't like it."

Yohko nodded, glad that he had realized it himself. None of them expected to place, but Raiden was not used to failure, and he had on occasion allowed immediate mission goals to assume greater importance than their overall objectives. "Next time, maybe."

"Not important," Raiden shook his head, "We don't need traditional ranks, remember?"

Yohko's reply was interrupted by Asuma's announcement, "Winner, Abe Ryu!" Which was followed by the almost required, "Medic!" Yohko pushed off the wall, and began heading for the stairs a few steps behind Maeda, mentally filing away her questions about the previous matches. Mitsumi was obviously well enough, or Raiden would still have been down there, at the least he would have been much more tense. She and Maeda were both in the tunnel when the heard Asuma's next announcement, "Next match, Iraisen Yohko of the Leaf versus Maeda Akane of the Mist!"

"Like it's a surprise," Akane muttered.

Yohko just smiled, already stretching out her chakra in a careful, logical manner. She wanted this over with as quickly as possible.

------------------------------

"This is the match I've been waiting for," Tsunade said, leaning forward to improve her view of the Arena floor, however slightly.

Gaara looked over at her, then back into the arena just in time to see the Mist-nin exit the stairs. "Any particular reason?"

"Iraisen Yohko is supposed to be the smartest of the Guardians, the most intelligent," Tsunade said, "but she's an observer, she tends to sit back and watch the rest in action. Raiden and Mitsumi overshadow her quite easily. I'm looking forward to see what the girl can do when she doesn't have a choice but to act for herself."

Gaara watched her walking out into the Arena. Something was tickling at the edges of his vision, a sense of straining, but he ignored it. The girl in question was small, not even a meter and half tall, and built like a starving street-urchin, thin and frail-looking. Her black hair was cut short, held out of the way by her hitai-ate, and her shorts and vest were covered in all manner of pockets, and while no less than six scroll-holsters hung off her legs and back, he could not see any shuriken or kunai holsters.

"A genjutsu specialist, correct?"

"Yes," Tsunade replied, eyes narrowing as she focused on the combatants now facing each other, "mostly further specialized into seals, however. That's tricky. She's getting very fancy now, I wonder if she really understands what she's doing?"

Gaara growled, annoyed by the itch in his eyes as well as his inability to figure out Tsunade's comment. Rubbing his eyes did nothing to stop their itching. When that failed, he gave a single grunt of surprise, before working through every genjutsu counter he knew. It took him quite a bit longer than he expected, almost fifteen seconds, to finally break through what Yohko was doing. When he did, he sighed, and leaned back in the chair. "Only one good fight," he muttered, "and I couldn't see the best part of it for the flames. This is getting boring, Tsunade."

"Shush," the Hokage replied, watching the field intently, "you're just grumpy you didn't get to kill him yourself."

------------------------------

Akane turned back to Yohko after saluting the Kages, and considered her opponent. She had been studying the girl intently since Ryu was called for the last match, and still had not seen anything too worrisome. Akane began walking around her opponent, but the girl almost immediately matched her pace, both of them taking their time, looking for an opening. After a few moments of silent contemplation, and even slower mutual circling, Akane spoke first.

"Iraisen Yohko, age thirteen as of two weeks ago, graduated Konoha Ninja Academy eight months ago. Overall grades were average, but written skills were perfect, and practical skills were abysmal. Demonstrated much greater capacity since graduating, no mission under C-rank, at least one B-rank, team leader Special Jounin Mitarashi Anko, Konoha's 'Serpent Assassin'. You are thought to be a genjutsu specialist, but that has yet to be verified, and your taijutsu and ninjutsu skills are expected to be moderate, at best. Most of your power is attributed to a curse seal of indeterminate origin."

Yohko smiled and nodded, acknowledging Akane's information before replying. "Maeda Akane, age fifteen," the woman's eyes widened slightly, but Yohko kept on going, "your parents fudged your records to get you ninja training early, graduated fourth in a class of sixteen four years ago, under the 'new' training curriculum of the Hidden Village of the Mist. Numerous missions over the last four years, D-rank through B-rank, with at least two that probably should have been listed as A-rank.

"A taijutsu specialist, you rely on speed and the sai you have concealed along your legs to win most fights. Your ninjutsu and genjutsu skills are fair, but you are your team's best close-combat fighter, leaving ninjutsu to Ryu and Saburo. Despite this, you are probably the best thinker in your team. At least, that is what you've demonstrated today, compared with what I have see of your boys. This is your second time testing for Chunin, you did not make it past the first round last time and never have figured out why."

Akane bowed slightly, returning Yohko's acknowledgement. "Good info, girl. Now that preliminaries are out of the way, what say we get this fight over with?"

Yohko smiled, and shook her head. "Not yet, Maeda-san. I had actually hoped to ask you some questions, while I have your undivided attention, since I have never had opportunity to talk to a Mist-nin. About the Suiton releases, I was..." she was cut off by a flying kunai, aimed right between her eyes. Surprised at the rudeness of the interruption, Yohko merely stood there, as the half-kilo throwing knife passed clean through her head. "Well," she said after a moment, frowning back at Akane's surprised look, "that was uncalled for. And rather rude, you know, I was trying to engage in a civilized discussion."

Akane could only ask, "Why didn't the clone vanish?" Then her hands settled into a seal, and she poured chakra into dispelling the genjutsu.

"Oh, stop that," Yohko said, "I cannot generate true genjutsu illusions, so traditional dispels will not work. Besides, the only genjutsu I am currently maintaining is a projected illusion of my presence. The real me is, obviously, elsewhere. You will understand if I do not tell you where. You could get rid of this as if it were a normal clone, I guess, but there is only a single point of chakra, creating the light-form via a variety of prismatic effects," she held up her little finger, "about the size of my last joint. Good luck finding it, though, since it can't be actually _in_ the illusion, but could be almost anywhere else."

Akane tuned out half of the younger girl's explanation. _She's hiding behind an illusion,_ Akane thought, _but no illusion is perfect._ Checking the one in front of her, she found that, light trick or not, it was not actually shifting the sand as a physical form would. _So, look for the footprints with no source. Start at the stairs, work your way out..._

Crouching further, she began shifting around in a slow circle, sweeping the Arena floor, senses straining for the slightest hint of the Konoha kunoichi's invisible presence.

------------------------------

"If she manages to move much, your genius is going to be in trouble," Gaara commented.

"Maybe," Tsunade agreed, "But you can see the girl has a back-up plan, as well. Like I said, she is the smartest of that group."

"What do most shinobi do when presented with a threat that they know is there but cannot localize, Kazekage-sama?"

"Hold position and wait for it to move," he answered, then twitched when he realized Tsunade had not asked the question. Glancing towards the Hokage, he saw that, crouched at the corner of the balcony's rail and the western tier of stands, was Yohko. Looking back down at the Arena grounds, he saw another version of her still standing there, facing Maeda.

"Even if she breaks past the illusion now facing her, she will not be able to locate me quickly enough to prevent a second genjutsu from snaring her," Yohko told him, "It is almost finished, anyhow."

"Don't distract her," Tsunade ordered, smiling slightly, "you might skew the exam results."

------------------------------

Contrary to her relaxed appearance, Yohko was straining mightily. She had proven with Tenjin's Mirror that she did not need to physically write a seal to form it or create its effects, but that technique had also proven that bypassing the physical component required significantly greater expenditures of chakra. The multiple jutsus she was forming now were each less convoluted than Tenjin's Mirror, but one of them was only slightly less complicated, and the others were not by any means simple.

Still, time was something she had plenty of, and chakra reserves were never a problem for any of the Guardians. She only needed her target to remain relatively stationary for another minute or so, and the match would be hers. The longer the jutsus ran, however, the more attention the primary required, and her secondary jutsus began to shimmer and destabilize. She heard the crowd muttering as the illusion of her on the arena floor flickered and vanished, and trusted to hope that her second and third illusions were still standing.

_Kami-sama I hope this works. I will only get one chance at this, all the others will be prepared after this round, and if I she gets free of this too soon..._

-----------------------------

Akane saw the illusory girl vanish, and a flicker of light a meter over its head that she identified as the chakra-prism the girl had mentioned. _She's moving faster, then,_ Akane thought, _which means she's close._ Realizing she had been too stationary for too long, Akane spun rapidly, whipping out both said to sweep the area immediately around her, then leapt sideways. She landed almost exactly where she had begun, still spinning, looking for the girl, still straining for non-visual signs of her presence.

The only thing she detected, however, was a massive shift in the chakra around her, and then lines of black symbols appeared, lines and arcs of them racing down from the Kages' balcony. She thought for a moment that one of the two Kages had intervened, and opened her mouth to protest, then realized, as she tried to leap clear of the forming seal, that the origin point was a _corner_ of the balcony.

She almost panicked as the tide of symbols flowed towards her, whorls and loops criss-crossing over the Arena floor and up its walls to just short of the viewing stands. But there were clear spaces, and she managed to land in one. It was barely large enough for her foot, but her balance was as perfect as always, and she focused her glare on the origin point. She watched as Yohko stood from behind the rail, and stepped over it. Sliding down the wall, the girl appeared to be holding on to nothing, and Akane nodded as she recognized both the trick Yohko's teammate had used to scale the wall, and the finer control the girl was showing. That would be a useful technique to learn, obviating both wires and ropes shinobi often carried, freeing weight for other tools.

Yohko touched down, and began gliding slowly along the seal-lines towards Akane's position. "Welcome," she called out, "to Tenjin's Maze. Nara-san is going to be unhappy with me, as this is the first time I have used it against another shinobi. He hates it when I do this, and will no doubt be quite firm in his rebuke, especially for using it against an enemy capable of killing me, instead of an ally who would not. But you just fit it too perfectly for me to pass up the opportunity."

Shifting her balance to keep Yohko centered in her vision, and replacing her sai with kunai, Akane asked, "It's some sort of genjutsu, right?"

Yohko paused, looking up at the sky as she thought over her answer, then shook her head, "No, I do not think of it as such. I consider seals to be a separate type from genjutsu, since dispels cannot break them, but that is a matter of perspective, semantics. Actually, it is a combination of four seals. The Maze will snare you, the instant you touch a line, and you will only find your way out when I show you the door. The trick is, all you have to do to break it, is break my physical connection with the lines of the seal. Do that, and I can no longer power it with chakra, it will collapse in moments. Your best bet is ninjutsu, since those attacks are generally longer ranged than taijutsu, but you are not very skilled at those. Genjutsu might work, but I have already demonstrated that I am better at those than you. So, taijutsu. But for that, you need to reach me." She smiled, and raised her hands, and Akane's eyes narrowed. "So, Maeda-san, I am now your minotaur, defeat me and find the way through Tenjin's Maze."

Akane snarled, and began moving. It was not easy, none of the lines were thick, but they twined and mingled like old-growth swamp vines. The largest clear patch she could find was barely the size of her foot. Worse, as she closed, Yohko merely flowed away, gliding steps that slid along the lines of the seal that continued to grow. She could not get close enough, and the longer she took to get the girl, the more tired she became, and the worse she looked to the judges in the audience.

Bad as it looked, Akane knew she was gaining, however slowly. She took comfort in the fact that, small as she was, it would not take much to eliminate her opponent, and began determining exactly how to go about doing that. She reached as far as a headlock, and was deciding whether too simply sleeper-hold the girl, or snap her aggravating neck, then decided to leave that decision for when the moment arrived.

The Jounin moderator's voice was a surprise, "Winner by forfeit! Iraisen Yohko."

Akane stumbled, then blinked and shook her head as her vision swam. When it cleared, she stared out onto the Arena floor through the dark frame of the observation bay stairs. Meters ahead of her, she could see Yohko standing calmly next to the Jounin, both of them staring at her. Stumbling slightly, Akane stepped out into the Arena again, "W... what did you say?"

"You've been standing there for ten minutes, Maeda," the Jounin told her, "victory by forfeit to Iraisen Yohko.

"Gomen, Maeda-sann," Yohko called out, "you were caught in Tenjin's Maze before we left the stairs."

She felt her anger rising, "You cheated!"

"No," Yohko said, "the rules for the Chunin exam tournament are un-clear on precisely when a match begins. Nothing in the rules requires the contestants to wait until the moderator announces the fight, only that they wait until one match is over, and that they must _stop_ fighting on the moderator's command. Saluting the Kages and waiting for the moderator are merely polite conventions, not requirements."

"Chunin are supposed to be aware of threats to their mission," the Jounin commented, "An enemy won't always wait for you to be ready to start their own mission against you. Since you were apparently caught in a genjutsu, and not by your fear, I will revise my judgment. Winner by defeat of opponent, Iraisen Yohko."

-----------------------------

Tsunade shook her head, leaning back in her chair. "Slick, smart, but I feel disappointed. I wanted to see how well she actually fought."

"Agreed," Gaara said, "but that was extremely well planned. Underhanded, thorough, layered. Tell me, girl, how many illusions did you have going?"

"Three, Kazekage-sama," Yohko replied, looking over from where she was still crouched in the corner of the balcony, "one of me on the grounds, one of Maeda-san on the grounds, and a third to cloak my presence here. All of them were reflected in Tenjin's Maze, to simplify the entire structure."

"Why bother with the illusion of Maeda?"

Yohko looked a little sheepish at that, "I was unsure if my interpretation of the rules would be allowed to stand. I thought, if no one noticed until an actual fight began, and she had been trapped long enough, it would strengthen arguments in my favor. Similar reasoning to that of Mitsumi's personal philosophy – it is easier to beg pardon than gain permission."

Gaara, nodded. It made sense, in a twisted sort of way. "Last question, why did you pick here for your actual hiding place?"

She bowed slightly, a little awkward since she was still crouched behind the rail, "A thousand apologies for any disrespect, Hokage-sama, Kazekage-sama, but I wanted someplace she would hesitate to attack if she did break through the Maze and both sets of illusions. With the two of you, and all the ANBU, she would hesitate, giving me time to try to come up with something else."

"Baka," Anko muttered, leaning over from the western tier, "I know I told you to go anywhere, but you kids are pushing it, bothering the Kages twice! Get back down there, and take your beating like a good girl."

"Hai, Anko-baa-sama," Yohko smiled as she stood. She bowed to the Kages, then stepped over the rail. Her illusion in the arena floor by Asuma vanished, and the crowd's attention was drawn to her as she rappelled down the wall.

"They are quite... forward," Gaara commented diplomatically. "Why do you put up with that?"

Tsunade studied him for a moment, then leaned back and pointed to her right. Just over the wall of the western tier, a certain head of blonde hair could be seen bouncing as the owner talked excitedly to those around him. "He's 'forward'. He's also dumb as a brick, about as observant, and emotional to a fault. But you know him well, you know just how good he is. He's one of my best ninja, one of the best Konoha has seen in years. Look at Jiraiya, Anko, Kakashi, myself. Look in a mirror. Irreverence matched by skill is always excusable. Their problem is not irreverence, Gaara, it is arrogance. They have spent too long relying on only themselves, and do not know how to rely on others. They also need to be shown, in the clearest manner possible, that there are stronger people out there in their own generation, let alone amongst the older shinobi."

"Which this is not doing."

"Hmm, not as well as I would have liked, but, these are still some of the toughest fights they've had, and they no longer have the advantage of surprise. Starting next round, we should see something more interesting."

"Two of them will have to fight each other," Gaara agreed. "Hopefully it will finally make this day interesting."

-----------------------------

As Yohko returned to the observation bay, and Akane's instructor escorted her off the grounds, Asuma turned to the audience. "Ladies and gentlemen, there will be a short break, some ten minutes, to ensure the remaining candidates are all fully functional in time for the next round. The pairings are drawn directly from the first round, Kodachi versus Mitarashi, Abe versus Iraisen. Ten minutes."


	22. 21 Power & Knowledge

**Rise of the Guardians**

By Daishi Prime

- 21 – Power & Knowledge -

The ten minutes intermission was intended to give the gathered audience a chance to both stretch their legs, and begin the politicking that would fill the rest of the day for the gathered nobles. While such gatherings were relatively normal in a sense, the scale, the presence of foreign representatives on hand, especially the infamous Kazekage Sabaku no Gaara, gave an added spice and potential. So while most of the Konoha residents in the audience merely stretched and rehashed the matches of the first round, the nobles mingled.

Hinata, as heir to one of Konoha's most powerful families, was initially caught up in the round of diplomatic discussions. She eventually managed to break away by noticing Hanabi's arrival at the back of the tier, and excusing herself to check on her sister. The crowd that followed her was a bit of a surprise, including the Guardians, Anko, Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke and Neji. As Hinata moved up the steps, she saw a fleeting look of fear on Hanabi's face, at the sudden motion of so many people, mostly strangers, moving towards her. Hinata gestured slightly to catch her sister's attention, then tried to calm her by smiling. It appeared to work, as Hanabi visibly gained control of herself, "Onee-san, I..."

Hinata cut her off by wrapping her little sister in a hug, pulling her in close. She glanced at Rumiko, standing behind Hanabi, who merely smiled, and Hinata pulled tighter. "Well done, onee-chan," Hinata whispered, "very well done."

Hanabi was stiff as a plank, at first, but after a few seconds returned the gesture, and they stood there for almost a minute. "I lost," Hanabi muttered back.

"We all loose, sometime," Hinata whispered back. "Remember Neji's first Chunin exam? You also passed, onee-chan."

"Passed what? I'm not going to make Chunin after that pathetic excuse..."

Hinata interrupted her, "No, you passed Raiden's test."

"Tche, like I care what he thinks."

"You also passed mine. You could have killed him, Hanabi, but you held yourself back."

Hanabi's response to that was a muffled growl, "I missed one."

Hinata chuckled, "Deliberately, ne? I know you, Hanabi-chan. You are as accurate with your fists as Tenten is with her senbon, and Raiden is no faster than you. You proved to him, and me, that you truly do have the control and judgment necessary." She pulled back and grinned into a face that was sometimes eerily like her own, "You just don't have the luck. Next time, you will do better."

Hanabi blinked as Hinata stepped aside, mulling over what she said. Neji was right behind her, and to both Hanabi's and Hinata's surprise, mimicked Hinata's greeting, pulling Hanabi into a hug. He was quicker than Hinata had been to let go, but he kept a rip on Hanabi's shoulders. "Good fight," he told her, "but we need to work on your control with your clones. They should be just as accurate as you are."

"Hai, Neji-nii-san."

Before Hanabi could say more, Juubei stepped up beside Neji and took her hand, shaking it once as Neji moved to flank Hanabi on the opposite side from Hinata, "Beautiful fight, Hanabi. Nice form, good adaptations." He smirked, "I liked how you used a ryu-jutsu move against him. He never expects anyone but us to know those moves. The surprise'll do him good."

Hanabi twitched, and Hinata almost laughed at her surprise. It would not have been apparent to most, but Hinata knew how to read all her family members, by now. Deciding let things happen and see where they would go, she slipped around behind Hanabi, making room for the rest.

"Th... thank you, I think," Hanabi finally managed.

"He's right," Kuma rumbled, and Hinata almost giggled as Hanabi bristled back at the giant suddenly looming over her, before shaking his hand as well, "solid fight. Don't think I could have taken a Thunderbolt like that. Sure couldn't've roughed him up that badly."

"'Bout time someone at his age and rank did a number on him," Anko offered, leaning against a bench-back, oblivious to the discomfort of the man sitting there. "Not that he'll remember it. Mind like a sieve, that boy. But the rest of us will, and I've gotta say, thanks for giving me some more shots to embarrass him. I'm going to have so much fun picking on him now. 'Beat like a drum 'cause he couldn't stop staring at the pretty girl,' I think that'll work."

Hanabi was looking from one to another, her confusion growing ever more evident. "What are you saying? I'd think you would..."

Juubei grinned, "Be angry?"

"Spiteful," Kuma offered.

Anko chuckled, "Plotting a vile and vicious revenge? Nah, not our style, girl."

Juubei stepped to one side of the aisle and gestured for Hanabi to lead the way back to their seats, "We admire skill Hanabi, and control, perseverance. So what if you used it against one of us? All the better that you did it without killing anyone, and all the better that you're a Konoha shinobi. We may have the Seal, but we still need to practice to improve, and we're too familiar with each other at this point. Look at what those three learned just from a month of training with someone else."

"Better an enemy you respect, than one you pity," Kuma rumbled, "Same for friends."

Hanabi glanced back over her shoulder at him, "So which am I?"

"You're my sister," Hinata told her, "and you passed. That makes you a friend."

They had reached their seats by this point, and after a not-so-subtle hint, Naruto gave up his seat, pushing Kuma back to sit beside Kakashi as Hanabi took Hinata's place next to their father, and Hinata took the end. Hanabi stopped on seeing her father, however, and as he turned to greet her, bowed deeply. "My apologies for having disappointed you, father," she spoke quickly, voice tightly controlled.

Hiashi stared at her bowed head for a moment, then reached out to rest a hand on it. "Defeat is a harsh teacher, Hanabi, one the best ninja listen to closely." He lifted his hand, and settled back into his seat, "there is much to discuss concerning your match, things you did well, things you did poorly, but now is not the time. We shall see how young Kodachi and his teammates fare in the remaining matches, to provide counterpoint." Hanabi seemed even more confused, and Hinata felt sorry for her. She obviously was not prepared for their father's reaction, let alone that of the Guardians. "You appear to have recovered from your injuries," Hiashi continued, "were they less severe than they appeared?"

Hanabi shook her head, "No, father. Raiden's friend..."

"Sister," Hinata corrected softly.

Hanabi shot her an inscrutable look, almost a glare, then ignored her comment, "… Yamamato Rumiko, is a trainee-medic. She and Haruno-san asked if she could try one of her jutsus on me, and I agreed, once Haruno-san assured me it was safe."

Hiashi studied her for a moment, then met Hinata's gaze with a slightly raised eyebrow, before turning to study Rumiko, sitting next to Juubei. The mouse of the Guardians smiled brightly, and began signing. I needed the practice with a non-Guardian, and she proved we can trust her.

Watching her, Hinata began to translate, "she says..."

"Thank you, Hinata," Hiashi cut her off, but politely, "I know how rare it is, but I am familiar enough with the basics. You consider my daughter a test subject?"

Everyone is a test subject, Rumiko replied cheekily, then grew serious. I also do not like to leave those we trust injured. Injured they cannot protect Konoha. I knew Hinata would ask me to help her, Raiden approved, Sakura-san made sure I did no more harm. Thus your daughter has merely bruises and scrapes, instead of damaged nerves and burned chakra pathways.

Hiashi's eyes widened, and he looked down at Hanabi. "Damaged nerves? Burned chakra pathways?"

"I am fine now, father," Hanabi said, "Haruno-san checked me herself after Yamamato finished. Haruno-san cleared me to leave. I am not to attempt to mold chakra for a few days, but there is no damage. None of it would have been permanent anyhow."

"Thunderbolt is entirely formed of chakra," Hinata told him, "so it makes sense that it damages the target's chakra pathways. Given how physically devastating the attack is, we had always considered the chakra burning to be a secondary effect. How bad was it?"

"Kaiten should have protected you," Hiashi seemed actually concerned, though it was hard for Hinata to tell if it was concern for Hanabi, or concern that something could get through the Hyuuga's vaunted Jyuuken.

"It did, father," Hanabi replied calmly, though Hinata could hear the long-suffering sigh hidden beneath, "but no defense is truly perfect, and that thing... it really is like a bolt of lightning. When the first one hit..." Hanabi shook her head roughly. "Nothing's ever hit me that hard. Not in one shot."

The chakra damage was extensive, but minor, Rumiko said, like a sunburn – minor burning, but spread out all over thanks to her defense, instead of concentrated. Same for the nerves. She would have healed fine in a few weeks, Blood of the Immortal just sped things up.

"I'm already good as new, though," Hanabi said, not noticing Rumiko's remark. She held up one hand, "I can already..." She cut off when Rumiko slapped the back of her head, turning to match the Guardian's glare. "What was that for?"

"No molding chakra for a few days," Hinata reminded her, "Rumiko was merely reminding you before you hurt yourself."

"I wasn't sure the Kaiten would stop the Thunderbolt," Sasuke commented, trying to return to the subject. "I know it is supposed to be a perfect defense, but when I tried it a couple of weeks ago, all I managed to do was get blown a couple hundred meters."

Ignoring the shocked looks from several of the surrounding Hyuuga clan members, Juubei leaned forward into Sasuke's line of sight, "How do _you_ defend against it, then, Uchiha?"

One black eyebrow rose, then a sardonic grin appeared, "Chidori."

Juubei gave him a jaundiced look, "You use an attack to block an attack? Wasteful, isn't it?"

"Tche, so's the Thunderbolt. I can get through the Kaiten with Chidori, and still be functional afterwards, unlike him."

"He'd just been pounded on by Hanabi. No one..."

Sasuke cut Juubei off without a thought, "He can't throw more than one Thunderbolt in several minutes, and it always leaves him staggering. Inefficient."

"Chidori left you staggering when you learned it, Sasuke-teme," Naruto countered, "'least two of 'em did. And those two... You couldn't have punched through a Kaiten with those." Sasuke just smirked, but Naruto matched him, "Unlike you, teme, I've actually been hit by the Kaiten, Neji's, remember? Your Chidori couldn't have gotten through it then."

"Gentlemen," Hiashi interrupted the incipient argument, "I believe the next round is starting."

Sure enough, when Hinata turned back to the arena, Asuma was strolling out to the center of the Arena floor. He took his time, letting word spread through the crowd on its own. By the time he reached the center and turned to face the Kages, the audience was silent, ready for the next round.

"Hokage, Kazekage, round two of this Chunin exam is now ready to begin. With your permission?" He paused for a moment, allowing both figures to nod their assent, then turned to the observation bay, "Kodachi Raiden, Mitarashi Mitsumi, front and center!"

"Should be a close fight," Sasuke commented, "but I bet Raiden wins."

"Not a chance, teme," Naruto countered instantly, "Mistumi'll pound him." He stood up, as the two walked out onto the grounds, and shouted out, "Mitsumi! Kick his ass!"

While everyone flinched away from the blonde's shout, Hinata glanced at her father, and asked, "What is wrong, father?"

"I am wondering," he said, "if he will apply what Uchiha-san has been teaching him, or what I have been teaching him. If the former, they will have a close-run fight and I am uncertain as to the victor. If the latter..." Hiashi trailed off, then shrugged. "We will know in a few moments."

------------------------------

Raiden followed Mitsumi down the stairs and out onto the ground, with more than a little trepidation. He half expected her to try to start the match on the stairs, where the cramped confines would let her make better use of her higher speed and smaller size. Asuma had given all four remaining candidates a rather vivid description of what he would do to any of them who began before he specifically said to, but Mitsumi was always finding ways around rules. Fortunately, she left well enough alone, though he could feel her excitement bubbling despite both of them blocking the link. Even without the link, the girl was more bouncing than walking, as she covered the last few meters backwards to stand just beyond Asuma.

Moving more slowly, Raiden watched Mitsumi fidget, and settled the mental debate he had indulged in since returning to the observation bay for Yohko's fight. He stepped up next to Asuma, arms crossed over his chest, and kept his eyes fixed on Mitsumi. She was still wearing her hitai-ate over her eyes, but she was grinning from ear to ear.

"Right, this is the second round," Asuma told them. "You've each seen what the other can do, and so has the audience, who'll be voting on your ranks at the feast this evening. Fight hard, show them what Konoha shinobi are capable of, and..." he leaned in closer, and whispered, "... try to keep me out of it, this time?" He stepped back, and Mitsumi dropped into stance, already coiling for her strike.

"I withdraw."

_It's amazing, the power of two simple words to bring so much silence,_ Raiden thought a moment later, as deathly stillness settled over the Arena.

He could feel the eyes of the entire audience on him, but most of his attention was on Mitsumi, staring at him in shock. "Ha ha," she muttered after a few seconds, facing falling only slightly, "very funny Raiden. Now..."

"I'm not joking, Mitsumi," he stated, then repeated, "I withdraw."

Asuma grunted, then asked, "You sure about this, kid?"

"I will not fight my sister," Raiden stated.

"Like hell you won't," Mitsumi growled, all traces of laughter gone, now radiating furious disbelief. "I've been working for a month for this! Longer! I _killed_ someone to get here!"

Raiden shook his head, struggling to control his emotions in the sudden storm of Mitsumi's. She was not blocking the link any more, and this close physically, against such strong emotions, he was having trouble holding up his block. "No, you killed Saburo because he deserved to die, and you knew that Juubei and I would've made his death worse, had it been left to us. And while I respect how hard you've been working, Mitsumi, and how much you have learned, I will not fight you."

"Damn you, Raiden," she swore, "I've been thinking about nothing except this! A chance to finally _fight_ you, to finally see which of us is stronger, and you're just going to _walk away_! Like hell you will! _I won't let you_!"

Raiden sighed, shaking his head slowly. "That is the biggest reason I won't fight you, Mitsumi. You are too focused on this fight, on beating me. I know you, and I know myself. I can't surrender, it's not in my nature, and you would not quit _this_ fight, no matter how hard it became. If I fight you here, now, as we both are, one or both of us will die. At the very best, the both of us would be critically injured. I am not willing to deprive Konoha of two shinobi just so you can realize what the rest of us already know. You are stronger than I am, Mitsumi, you merely lack my control."

He could feel the tumult of her emotions, and part of him wanted to give in and fight her, just so she wouldn't feel that terrifying mix of fear, anger, hurt and confusion. But he knew he was right, knew that one of them would kill the other. He also knew that if he turned and walked away, as he had originally decided to, she would very likely attack him. He had to calm her down, to convince her that he was right. Almost as important, he had to convince Juubei and Hinata. So he stretched his hands out sideways, very carefully forming a string of illusions, memories he knew they both shared, though they weren't for her. The illusions were there for the others, for their brothers and sisters to remember. Raiden reached Mitsumi by pushing the memories through the link to her.

"I remember you, Mitarashi Mitsumi. I remember teasing another boy, when I was four, for dragging around his twin sister, only to have said sister deck me. That' s when I learned never to ignore someone just because they're smaller." The first illusion coalesced, revealing a small red-haired girl with a fierce look on her face, all the more impressive for a massive black eye developing. "You and your brother kicked my ass that day, even if I did get in some good hits of my own."

Another illusion solidified, this one of her face, frowning in concern, red hair a mess, green eyes swollen with unshed tears. "I remember when I placed my Seal, as the progression wore on, the one face I saw more often than Yohko's." Her emotions were steadying, but still uncertain, and she was not speaking, so he carried on with the next.

"I remember, when Onee-san joined us." The third illusion was more complicated. Still Mitsumi's face, older than in the previous scenes, green eyes now gone to all white. Her face was set in concentration, where it was not covered in lines of seals, "the one who risked her own life and soul to help safeguard Onee-san's and mine."

He thought he could see a tear leaking out past her hitai-ate, and that part of him that wanted to fight her changed tactics to cursing him for doing this to her, for exposing her like this to all these people. _One more,_ he thought to himself, _please let one more be enough,_ and reached for the most terrible memory he could think of.

"I remember, when my world ended."

The fourth illusions was the largest and most complicated, appearing to one side of him, a burning building collapsing in on itself, and Mitsumi again, eyes back to green but wide with fear, tears flowing freely leaving tracks in the soot and dirt covering her. "A girl two thirds my size, who kept me from joining my father, mother and brother in death."

Mitsumi dropped to her knees, staring at the illusion even if she couldn't see it. Moving closer, Raiden crouched in front of her and pulled her in to an embrace, whispering, "You are stronger than I am, Mitsumi. In sparring, I win because I keep control, I remember the rules of the mat. In a true fight, you have more chakra, are more creative in its use, and possess a will to match mine. But we can never do that, not to each other, not to Hinata. How can I fight someone who has saved my life three times?" She just sat there, unresponsive, though he could feel her roiling emotions. "I'm sorry, Mitsumi, I really am, but I can't fight you."

She was no longer ready to kill him, he had accomplished that much, but her emotions were still too roiled, rolling from anger to pain to sorrow to an odd feeling of hope, too chaotic for him to just leave her like this. Raiden did not dare let her go until he was sure she would not try to continue the fight, so he reached for the sanest voice he knew. Hinata was there, waiting beyond the block, and for a time she simply held the two of them in her mind, letting the serenity of her presence calm all three of them after the rollercoaster of Raiden's demonstration. When Mitsumi started trying to push Raiden away physically, the three of them retreated wordlessly back into their own minds again.

Pulling back, Raiden looked into the blank metal band over Mitsumi's eyes, mentally chuckling at the absurdity of even trying to meet a blind girl's eyes, and asked, "You got it together?"

"Yeah," she muttered, voice harsh. "That was low, teme, bringing up all that crap now."

"Didn't want you jumping me," he muttered back, smiling at her.

"Still gonna happen one of these days." If she had looked even remotely serious, Raiden would have been concerned, but he just shook his head, standing and offering her a hand. She took it, and hauled herself up.

"You kids done crying all over each other?"

"Bite me, Asuma-san," Mitsumi snarled, retargeting some of her lessened temper, "Teme here's pulling up some really personal stuff. Embarrassing, like."

"I should probably be going," Raiden said.

Asuma stopped him with a hand on his shoulder, "You seriously yielding the match?"

"That would be what I said, Asuma-san."

"You've got orders from the Hokage, as I recall. Something about not throwing a match?"

Raiden looked at him, then up at the balcony. Tsunade was standing at the rail, and for a few moments the two of them matched glares. "If you order me to remain on this field, Hokage-sama," he began after a moment, "I will remain, but I will not fight."

"You were ordered to do your best, demonstrate your skills, and progress as far as you could," Tsunade rumbled back.

Raiden gave her a confused look, hoping she did not notice that he was more amused than confused. "But Hokage-sama, I have. I have guaranteed that one of us makes it to the final round of the tournament, and that she will have the best chance possible to win that round, given that she will be more reseted than whoever she faces. Your orders, as relayed by our instructors, were for 'us' to do our best. Well, this is our group's best."

"We're not lone-wolves," Mitsumi offered, giving the Hokage an urchin grin. "Your orders left us room to interpret them as group orders, and that's what we did."

Tsunade continued to glare at Raiden, while answering Mitsumi, "Genin don't interpret orders."

"All due respect, Hokage-sama," Raiden replied, "Genin interpret their orders all the time. We are not puppets, however much some people may wish us to be. We are shinobi – intelligent, highly trained, _thinking_ warriors."

Tsunade glared for a few moments more, then shook her head, waving one hand over the Arena. "You chose to quit, Genin. Get out of the way so we can see what some real shinobi can do."

Raiden bowed to her retreating back, then jogged for the Arena wall as Mitsumi strolled back to the obervation bay's stairs.

------------------------------

"Ahh, man, I wanted to see Mitsumi fight him," Naruto whined. "That was gonna be so cool. She wouldn't have killed him, really, just... roughed him up."

Sasuke grunted in annoyance, "You're wrong, dobe, about who'd've won. But I agree. Disappointing performance, quitting after I went to all that trouble to train him."

"He won that fight," Neji said, glaring at the two younger men, "or would have, had he not withdrawn before hand. She was broken, totally vulnerable, at the end there. There are more ways to defeat an enemy than simply beating them bloody."

"He trained with you merely because it was you," Hinata told Sasuke, watching Raiden's chakra rope snake around one of the roof supports, "to gather information about you. The Chunin exam has never been high on Raiden's list of priorities. What use normal ranks, when he is already a Guardian?"

"Chunin rank will ease his dealings with others," Hiashi commented as Raiden came over the rail and began walking up the aisle towards where his siblings were seated. "He may have redeemed himself in the eyes of the nobles with that display. It was a touch personal, however, and arguing with the Hokage in such a manner... His inherent arrogance again. A very good decision though, very good."

Raiden paused at the end of the row as Juubei, Rumiko and Kuma stood to clasp hands with him, then gave Hiashi a questioning look. "I figured you would disapprove, Lord Hyuuga. As the Hokage seems to feel, I have abandoned my mission."

Hiashi kept his gaze on the Arena, where Asuma was calling the next round. "There are several methods to leadership, Kodachi. You have demonstrated one of the more complicated. We will discuss it at your next lesson."

Nodding, Raiden settled onto the steps next to Hinata, leaning one elbow on the seat. Looking down at him, she asked mentally, _why did you show those illusions? Mistumi could not see them._

_Yes she could,_ he replied, glancing up at her briefly, _mostly it was for the rest of you, the Guardians. Yohko said something during the break, and I know Juubei was worried about Mitsumi and I fighting. I generated the illusions as reassurance, to all of you, that I remember where I came from, and how I got here. They focused on my memories of Mitsumi, because I was replaying those entire memories for her through the link. Forming the illusions helped me remember more clearly, and sending those to Mitsumi required me to build the illusions on them._

_You are worried the others will think you have forgotten them?_

_I know they worry that I will forget why we became what we are. They worry that I will become what we exist to fight, that I will let myself become as corrupted by our power as Orochimaru, or Itachi, or any of those who follow Akatsuki. This reassured them, calmed Mitsumi, and reminded me of why we're here. I was getting too caught up in this exam as well. I didn't even think to tell the others to watch you, now did I?_

Hinata looked down at him, contemplating for a few seconds, then asked, _when did you get so old, Raiden? I have heard things from you that I would expect from my father, and that was before you began learning from him. You always take responsibility, you always worry about everyone else, you always think about tomorrow before today. I have wondered for a while, but despite looking through every one of your memories, I cannot determine when you became so... old._

_I've been responsible for all of us for years, _ he replied immediately, _responsibility makes for age._

Hinata shook her head, still studying his white hair as he stared out over the Arena. _The Academy exists to take responsibility for its students, your Jounin sensei do the same for rookie Genin. Yet you took this up yourself. Responsibility is a symptom, not a cause._

He looked back up at her, frowning in thought. _I don't know,_ he finally answered, not really. _My parents were always big on self-control. Not harsh, they just expected it, encouraged it. I've just... always been this way._ He shrugged, turning back to the Arena, concluding aloud, "I probably always will be. It's an advantage I can't afford not to have."

Hinata continued to study him, debating whether or not to carry on the conversation. She knew there was more to it, but she also knew he had no more idea what that 'more' was than she. _Something else to look into later,_ she thought to herself, finally turning her attention to Yohko's match.


	23. 22 Observation & Reflection

**Rise of the Guardians**

By Daishi Prime

- 22 – Observation & Reflection -

Ryu was not as trusting of her as Maeda had been, and insisted that she leave the observation bay first. Her protests and Asuma's warnings aside, he no more trusted her than Asuma did. For his part, the Jounin left a clone on the field to keep the crowd happy, and walked between the two of them. Yohko found the rigmarole amusing, since she had no intention of trying the same trick on Ryu. He was expecting it, and Tenjin's Maze relied primarily on surprise to trap its victims.

The three of them walked to the center of the Arena in that formation, paid their respects to the two Kages, then turned to face each other. Yohko took the opportunity, as Asuma once again admonished them to 'keep him out of it', to study her opponent one more time. Ryu was taller than she, as was everyone, but he almost equaled Kuma's towering height, though he lacked her brother's mass. He was, unlike Maeda or Saburo, neither relaxed nor confident, but wary and thoughtful, just slightly more tense than he should have been.

Bowing slightly as Asuma retreated, she noted, "You're more nervous than your teammates were, Abe-san."

"Ryu's fine," he said, returning her bow before reaching over his shoulder to pull the twin hook-swords with one hand, before tossing one to his empty hand. "As for being nervous, I would say cautious. I saw what you did to Akane, what your teammate did to Saburo. That gives me a fair idea of what you're capable of, and I'm neither as trusting as Akane, nor as arrogant as Saburo. You may be a rookie, but you're a dangerous one, and I've got no problem admitting that."

Yohko nodded her understanding. As predicted, he was fore-warned of her capabilities, though not as much as if she had actually fought Maeda. He would not go down easily. On the other hand, even distracted as she had been, she had learned something of his abilities from his fight with Jiro. In that fight, for instance, he had left his swords sheathed until the very end. Drawing them now indicated, to Yohko, that he was taking this battle very seriously.

He rushed her, leading with his right sword, the other back but pointing forward. Yohko watched for a moment, then lunged to her left, his right. He reversed the right blade with a twist of his wrist as she moved, then checked his own rush and swung the sword forward again. But hooks on the swords caught, and he let go of the left blade as his right swung towards her. Yohko smiled and ducked beneath the blade, feet sliding sideways until she was almost level, one hand on the ground. The left blade, rotating around the right at much higher speed, whipped through the air over her head.

Yohko's free hand moved as Ryu recovered his sword, pulling a scroll from her belt. She left it rolled, tossing it at him in an easy underhand, then shoved herself upright and back-flipped away. Ryu saw the scroll coming and mirrored her maneuver, his greater height causing the range to open faster. He need not have worried, as Yohko jerked on the chakra-line tying her hand to the scroll, and it twitched once before the combination of momentum and her pull unrolled it. When the loose tip reached her, she whispered, "Mask of a Thousand Faces," and slammed it to the ground with the same hand holding the rope, and poured chakra into the sigils carefully written over its entire length.

The sigils flared, as Ryu began to charge her again, then the Arena floor was covered in smoke clouds, exploding into being in rings that rippled away from the scroll. A moment later, Ryu was still, swords out to either side, studying the sudden army of clones surrounding him. Only these clones were not of Yohko, but of shinobi in the audience, even a few of the nobles, even Ryu himself. Using their presence as cover, Yohko slipped to the edge of the Arena, and onto the wall by way of another chakra line.

Ryu waited, but the clones only moved when he did, and after a moment he began to relax. An experimental attack at one had his sword passing clean through it, though it did not dissipate, merely rippled slightly. "More of your illusions, Iraisen? What is hiding going to get you?"

Carefully pitching her voice so it reached him from another angle, Yohko replied, "Time, Abe-san. Time to evaluate you in more detail. I would be careful, there are traps hidden amongst those illusions. Some of them will go boom when you touch them. Some are worse."

"Mask of a Thousand Faces you called it," he said, beginning to slide through the collection of illusions, carefully not touching them. "I can understand the shinobi, but should you really be using the nobles' faces as well? They might take offense."

"The technique simply reads the chakra signatures of those in range, and duplicates their physical appearance. It is not an insult, but an honor, to be included, as those reflected stand out from the crowd." She watched his progress, mentally tugging at the illusions in response to complicate his path and lead him away from her. "A dojutsu will see through them easily, and Mitsumi is no doubt laughing her head off right now. There are other ways to circumvent it. How will you find me in this, Abe-san?"

"Oh, I've got some ideas," he replied, then chuckled at a glaring trio of mirror-images of the Kazekage, and kept moving.

------------------------------

Hinata watched Ryu sidling his way through the illusions, and cocked her head slightly in surprised curiosity. He was being very careful not to come into contact with any of the illusions, and allowing himself to be herded away from Yohko's position. "If he goes all the way to the wall, she will have him trapped," she commented, "Surprising he does not see that."

"Without strange eyes, such as the Byakugan or Mitsumi's technique, dealing with genjutsu such as this can be difficult," Raiden reminded her. "He cannot determine which illusions are trapped and which are not."

"But none of the illusions are trapped," Hinata told him, "He is falling for his opponent's lies, allowing himself to be herded towards the only real trap Yohko has set, the walls."

"But he can't see that," Raiden countered, "and despite distrusting her _actions_, he trusts her _words_, because she was honest when explaining things to his teammate. Yohko's very good at this sort of psychological warfare, and Anko appears to have focused on that this last month."

"Do you think Abe will allow himself to be caught?"

Hiashi directed his question to Raiden, but Hinata answered, "No, not this soon. Look how he watches all the illusions, not just the ones in front of him.

"He knows something is going on," Raiden added, "he just does not know what."

"Do you?"

Raiden held up a hand, rocking it back and forth slightly. "In general, yes. Specifically, no. Yohko's significantly more intelligent than we are, so it is doubtful we see everything she's planning. Short version, she'll continue testing and avoiding him through a few more techniques like this one, genjutsu to force him towards a seal of some sort, just to test him. When she decides she knows enough, she'll strike from up close and personal, from under a genjutsu, probably his right side. He keeps leading with his right, she'll go for the extended vulnerable point."

"She will not use another genjutsu trap?"

Hinata and Raiden shook their heads in unison, before he replied, "No, Yohko is predictable, she..."

"... never uses the same final move twice in a row," Hinata finished.

Conscious of sudden stares, the two of them looked up and noticed their entire party watching them, a mixture of amused, annoyed, and curious. "What?" Only Hiashi was still watching the fight rather than them.

Leaning forward to see past his father and Sasuke, Neiji asked, "Are you two doing that deliberately?"

"Doing what?"

"Talking in sync," Hanabi muttered disgustedly, "it's freakish, you know."

Hinata and Raiden looked at each other in surprise, then he chuckled slightly, which she matched with an embarrassed flush, and they shook their heads. "Gomen nasai," Hinata said alone, "We were talking with Mitsumi when Father asked our opinion, debating Abe's and Yohko's prospects."

"You're getting worse," Kuma commented. "Used to be you'd only do that when you were sparring."

Raiden nodded agreement, "Yeah, I think you're right. But at the moment..."

When he paused, Hinata smiled and finished, "... Our attention should be on Yohko."

The three Guardians behind them laughed at the joke, as did Anko. The rest of those around them merely looked disturbed, though Hanabi did make a disgusted sound, before turning back to the fight below.

Abe had apparently seen the trap he was headed for, and stopped moving, freezing in place. The illusions were starting to cluster around him, and moving in. Abe held up a hand, however, and called out, "Do you know, I believe I've found a weakness in these illusions, Iraisen. Do you know what mist is, at its most basic level?"

------------------------------

Yohko realized almost immediately what he was doing, as the mist rose to fill the Arena floor, and was rather impressed. Few people ever actually thought about mist, and the fact that he had both determined how she formed her illusions, and how water suspended in the air would affect those illusions, was impressive. It was something of a gamble on his part, using so much chakra when he could not be certain her illusions would not compensate for the interference, but not much of one. Like her teammates, Yohko had never faced a Mist-nin before, and had trouble thinking of counters for their techniques ahead of time.

The rising mist covered the illusions, then lifted off the ground completely, drifting slowly upwards. When it reached a height of about ten meters, the illusions below began to flicker and fade. A few more seconds and they would be completely ineffective.

_Abe will be moving about now,_ Yohko thought, _time for the next stage._ She pulled out a brush and, with one hand, scrawled a quick symbol on the wall she was standing against. The grey ink blended well with the concrete, as she had planned, leaving the seal invisible. Another illusion, refraction point set beneath the mist and adjusted for it, sufficed to give the impression she was still there.

Then she was moving, dropping to the ground and ghosting out into the Arena, as quietly as she could manage on the still-damp ground. She was noisier than Mitsumi would have been, but still almost soundless, and certainly quiet enough to hear Abe's movement along the wall. _That is a clone, then,_ she thought, _the real one will be somewhere else, somewhere he can keep an eye on everything._

A moment later, there was a detonation behind her. Nothing like what Mitsumi could have done, the streamers of air that lashed out from the seal she left behind would have hurt Abe, and were plenty to eliminate his clone. The trap also served to focus everyone's attention on that spot. Pulling out a second scroll, Yohko crouched in the mist and waited, hunting with every sense at her disposal for Abe. _Come on, Abe-san, take the bait. You're a bright boy, go where a genjutsu user would._

She sensed movement in the fog, and shifted slightly to face it, loosing the binding on the scroll, but not unrolling it. Pushing her senses towards the motion, she had to consciously relax her muscles. Still, she found herself on the balls of her feet, all her weight on one leg, ready to bolt the instant she triggered the scroll.

The touch on the side of her ankle gave her just enough warning to realize what had happened, but not enough to react to it. The hooked end of one of Abe's swords caught her ankle and pulled, straight back, wrenching her leg out from under her sending her sprawling face-first. She could hear the second blade coming down on her back before she even hit.

_Bless Mitsumi's speed,_ Yohko thought. She knew training against Mitsumi had made her faster, and she used that to roll. Catching her balance was secondary to facing her opponent, and falling backwards gave her that fraction of a second she needed. Catching the sword that tripped her with that ankle was easy, pinning it to the ground. Catching the second sword with the scroll was harder, but she managed it just quickly enough that it was her hand that slammed into her chest, instead of the blade.

Abe was half-fallen on top of her, one arm back holding the pinned blade, the other extended putting most of his weight on Yohko's scroll. He looked rather surprised, "How the hell can a scroll block this?"

"Solid steel tube," Yohko muttered, more focused on holding him up than talking. Looking at the blade, which had passed clean through the inch-thick paper scroll to the tube beneath, she sighed, "I _needed_ that scroll, Abe-san. I am going to have to be impolite now."

"Whatever," Abe replied, pressing harder and trying to wrench his other sword free.

_I should probably hit him,_ Yohko thought, _but if I miss I will lose my block._ _Ah well, time to borrow from Mitsumi again._ "Tell me, Abe-san. Have you ever felt like flying?" He blinked, but before he could frame an answer, she smiled and whispered, "Firecracker."

One of the things which most intrigued Yohko about the Guardian Seal was the fact that each of them had subtle differences not just in their capabilities, but in how they executed a particular jutsu. Mitsumi, when she created the Firecracker, wanted an actual flame burst, and got it. Raiden's was almost entirely chakra, rather than visual or physical effects, Hinata's produced more light than Mitsumi's, but lacked the scorching effects. Juubei, Rumiko and Kuma also had slight variations. They all formed the technique the same way, as far as they could tell, it simply turned out differently. Yohko's manifested with only a slight burst of light, but a thunderous concussion that sent anything near her flying.

Abe, off-balance and unprepared, was launched upward over a meter, and Yohko rolled clear, catching the sword he left behind with one foot and flipping it up into her hand after dropping the ruined scroll. She gained her feet in time to watch him land, stumbling but upright. She waved the sword to catch his attention, smiling, "Missing something?"

He just quirked an eyebrow. "You're too smart to think you can match me with my own sword, Iraisen. So what are you going to do with it?"

She smiled, then spun in place, building up momentum, singing out, "Get rid of it." Twice she went around, hearing him curse, and half way through the third released the sword at an upward angle. It arced almost straight up, fast as any kunai, disappearing through the mist before reaching the apex of its arc just past the top of the Arena wall.

She had no time to celebrate, for just after her hand released the sword, the mist still cloaking the Arena suddenly collapsed inwards. Before it cleared the wall she was wrapped up in a sphere of water, forced almost into a fetal position it was so small. The water rippled strangely around her, the surface shifting turbulently, but it held. "Water prison," Abe muttered behind her, "you're the one trapped now."

------------------------------

The sudden compression of the mist drew gasps from the crowd, most of whom had been unable to see beneath it to the fight they could vaguely hear beneath it. The muffled speech and the dampened explosions hinted at a complicated battle of wits more than power, and everyone was eager to see the standings.

When Abe and Yohko appeared, the first standing next to the unstable water sphere holding the latter, most of the crowd sighed. "This isn't good," Sasuke commented, an amused tone to his voice. "He formed that Water Prison perfectly, despite her chakra's interference. She won't be able to move, won't be able to form any jutsus."

"Yohko has a way out," Anko disagreed confidently. "Remember, none of my kids necessarily needs to be able to move to form a jutsu. Yohko's the best at that trick, too."

"Water Prison is almost impossible to escape from without outside assistance," Hiashi said. "How will Iraisen manage it?"  
"The same way she gets out of the Nara-clan's Kagemane," Anko laughed. "Drove Shikamaru nuts trying to figure out how she does it."

"But what will she do afterwards," Hiashi wondered, "take advantage of his surprise, or retreat to continue testing him?"

"Fall back," Raiden said, "Yohko likes to have her plans fully thought out before she acts."

Hinata shook her head, "she will attack. You are thinking too much in the present, Raiden. Yohko has already planned her attack. Look."

The water prison was glowing slightly now, a light blue shade that shifted in shade and intensity. The prison's fluctuations were becoming wilder, spikes and bluges of water thrusting out randomly to distort the surface. "It's reacting to the chakra she's forming," Anko said, grinning hugely, "the seal she's shaping in her mind alone. God that girl's entertaining." As the sphere of water exploded sideways, swirling up Abe's arm and sending him tumbling, Anko finished in a very self-satisfied tone, "Tenjin's Mirror."

------------------------------

Yohko managed to roll in the prison, until she was facing Abe, and smiled at him. She knew he could not see it, but he was just so confident he had her pinned yet still so cautious towards her, it was sort of cute. Cute was not enough to convince her to lose, though, and she poured her chakra into the seal for Tenjin's Mirror. After weeks of working on it with Nara-san and his father, she was significantly faster than she had been originally, both at building the seal and triggering its effect. She was ready before Abe finished asking Asuma to call the match, and pushed her hand through the prison to grab his, doing her best to ignore the burning sensation as her chakra and his flared.

The water prison collapsed, one otherwise insignificant distortion in its surface suddenly flowing up Abe's arm with lightning speed. Yohko kept her grip, but was jerked towards him when he flinched. Abe barely managed to turn his head to look, face twisted in shock, before it enveloped his head and torso, sending him tumbling to the ground. A moment later, as Yohko shoved herself upright again, still holding his right hand.

The water collapsed, splashing away from them to re-soak the ground around them as both techniques failed. Abe was sputtering, disoriented by surprise and the swiftness of the action. Yohko took advantage, twisting his arm around, forcing him onto his stomach and locking his arm. Two swift blows to the back of his head with her free hand, and his struggles ceased. Unwilling to take any chances, she rolled him upright again, and placed three fingers on his forehead, binding him in Peaceful Repose.

Once the hash-marks of the seal appeared, she stepped back, staggering slightly. The Mirror had drained her, and she had put as much into the Peaceful Repose as she could, just in case he had some sort or resistance to it. Turning to Asuma, she bowed, "Please, Asuma-san, call the match."

He cocked his head sideways, "Why do you kids keep asking me to do that? Every time one of you asks that, the other turns the tables almost instantly."

She smiled, "It is a politeness, Asuma-san. The match is over, but for us to declare that would be an insult to you."

"You so sure it's over?"

"He will not be waking for several hours, Asuma-san." She smiled, cocking her head to one side and asking, "would you like to wait that long, and have us continue? I would be willing, but the audience..."

He waved her to silence, shoving himself off the wall and strolling over. He nudged Abe once with a toe, then turned to the Kage's. "Winner, Iraisen Yohko." Then he grabbed her hand, twisting it over and up to stare at her palm. "You'll be seeing the medics about those burns."

She looked at him, then at her hand. It still felt like it was burning, and the angry red scorch marks looked bad, but she still had the use of the hand. She was tempted to shrug Asuma off, but she was not Raiden. "Of course, Asuma-san."

"Medic!"

------------------------------

"I thought you said she was a thinker," Gaara muttered, as the crowd rumbled with applause. "She was rather aggressive for someone with that reputation."

"She is," Tsunade said, settling back as Asuma announced the next break, "She watched him fight Mori Jiro, took the time to evaluate her opponent, made very clever use of clones and lies to control where her opponent would go... very good, for a rookie Genin. Getting ambushed was disappointing, but she lacks her teammate's sensory techniques."

"Too aggressive," Gaara persisted, "someone that small, in single-combat, should have fallen back, used a few more of those genjutsu she's so skilled with."

"Maybe. But did you notice how she broke the Water Prison? That surprise alone gave her a priceless opening. It would have been criminal of her not to take advantage of it."

"And if he were faking that surprise, it would have cost her the match."

"Possibly. But it didn't cost her, now did it? 'Put it to the touch, to win or lose it all.' A shinobi must take risks, Gaara, you know that. The fact that she took this risk shows she understands that, accepts it, and takes pains to stack the deck in her own favor." Tsunade smiled, dismissing the debate with a wave, "she won, through a combination of observation and daring."

"You think she will actually fight her teammate? I was disappointed in the boy."

Tsunade shook her head, "I expected that. Well, I expected him to _yield_. I did _not_ expect him to talk her down like that. Yohko is a different case. I have my ideas, but," she smiled slyly, "I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise."


	24. 23 Sisters & Siblings

**Rise of the Guardians**

By Daishi Prime

- 23 – Sisters & Siblings -

Yohko walked onto the Arena one last time, not from the observation bay, but from the medical wing. Rumiko had come down to check her hand, but instead of healing Yohko's burns, had watched while Sakura did the healing, detailing the process for both Genin. Rumiko had seemed to understand, but most of it had been beyond Yohko. _For the moment,_ she reminded herself, shaking and stretching the hand to get rid of the faint tingling sensation that remained, _I just need to find the right book, and it will all make sense._

Mitsumi was moving at an angle to her, approaching Asuma's position in the center of the field from the observation bay. She was apparently staring at Asuma, but it was impossible to truly say, because her hitai-ate was still over her eyes. Despite that, Yohko was fairly certain her sister's attention was fully on her. It was a feeling she had noticed with each of the Guardians, and Hinata's observations of their chakra flows when she joined them had proven it. Mitsumi was moving more normally than the last time she had been on the field, without the hyperactive excitement she had displayed walking out to her match with Raiden, which Yohko took to be a good sign. On the other hand, she was frowning fiercely, and however calm her walk, her hands kept twitching towards the kunai secreted about her body.

The two of them came to a stop a couple of meters apart, equidistant from Asuma, who gave each of them long, studying looks. "You girls know the rules, by now, but I've got a reminder for you. The nobles are here to see a show, to see the skills of Konoha on display. I'd suggest you give them that, even if you are teammates."

"We will be fine, Asuma-san," Yohko told him, watching Mitsumi.

Asuma shrugged and backed off to the wall. Smirking slightly, Yohko jerked her head in his direction and rolled her eyes. Mitsumi grinned slightly, "Yeah, like he thinks we're dangerous or something. So," the frown returned, "Are you going to wimp out on me like Raiden did? Afraid of weakening the Guardians?"

Yohko nodded, "Yes, I am worried about it. But not as much."

"Tche, another cop out? Come on, Yohko! This is..."

Yohko held up a hand, cutting Mitsumi off before she could get rolling. "Relax, onee-chan. I do not want to _fight_ you," she dropped into a modified Ryu-jutsu stance, left arm held out loosely towards Mitsumi, palm up, her right arm out to the side, "but I would love to _dance_." Mitsumi looked confused for a moment, and Yohko could not resist chuckling at her confusion. Half the time, 'dancing' was how they referred to combat, but Yohko had always been more precise with her language than the others, a habit from trying to express some of the more convoluted ideas she had. "In a fight, onee-chan, the objective is to render your opponent unable to continue. In a dance, the objective is to _have fun_. So, I will not _fight_ you, but I will be more than happy to _dance_ with you."

Mitsumi started chuckling as well, shaking her head at her sister's weird way of looking at things. "Why didn't Raiden think of this, then?"

Yohko quirked an eyebrow, "Raiden? He does not know how to have fun, onee-chan, not even with help. You should know that better than anyone, save possibly Hinata-sensei."

"Yeah, true," Mitsumi agreed, then cocked her head and considered Yohko's stance. "So, a dance, huh? None of that crazy genjutsu crap that makes me stand around like a brain-dead Sound-nin, ne?"

Yohko laughed again, "What _are_ you thinking, 'Sune? Trying to neutralize my best skills before we even get started? That is acceptable, I will agree to forgo my genjutsu, but only if you also agree to forgo your ninjutsu."

"A straight taijutsu battle?" Mitsumi's face blossomed into a grin, "I've got a speed advantage, and you've never been able to handle the Ryu-jutsu's Fire Dragon Form very well."

"Your fire, my air, they feed each other, rather than oppose," Yohko said, "but I think I can hold my own against you. So long as you do not actually set yourself ablaze again, that is."

"Maybe later," Mitsumi said, settling into a stance of her own, legs set wide, one straight the other bent, arms spread wide to either side. "Shall we dance, onee-chan?"

------------------------------

"A taijutsu only battle? This is going to be boring," Sauske muttered, "neither of them is up to Lee's standards."

"You haven't got a clue, Uchiha," Juubei countered, "keep those ugly red eyes of yours under wraps, you might go blind yet."

"We make more extensive use of chakra in our taijutsu than normal," Hinata explained, "They will be making as much use of chakra as if they were using ninjutsu and genjutsu, but it will be less constrained. Be careful of your eyes."

Hanabi, having to crane her neck to see past the crowd, asked, "You directly boost your physical capacity with chakra, right onee-san? How much of a boost can they manage?"

"Depends," Raiden answered, ignoring Hanabi's disapproving frown, "none of us have ever done this before. Any time we were in a serious fight, we always used ninjutsu and genjutsu, we never focused entirely on taijutsu. Off hand, I'd say they can push themselves to a little short of where Lee was for his first Chunin Exam."

"They'll both be very close to the same level," Hinata added. "Mitsumi can channel more chakra, but Yohko's better at shaping it. Quantity versus quality. The differences will balance each other."

"Which will remove their physical capabilities from the equation," Hanabi said, "leaving it up to their tactics. So Yohko should win, right?"

"Maybe," Raiden allowed, "even probably, but Mitsumi's just as wild and unpredictable as her element. This one's honestly too close to predict."

"Could you have predicted Mitarashi, Kodachi?" Hiashi's question was soft, but easily heard.

"Yes, but I have an advantage Yohko does not, and Mitsumi would be just as able to predict me."

"Yet you still refused to match yourself against her."

"Prediction is not control, Lord Hyuuga. You haven't actually spent a lot of time around the three of us together, but you've noticed how, when we concentrate on the same thing, we tend to think as one? It's worse if we start getting emotional, and Mitsumi is the most emotional out of all of us. She would not have held control for more than a few seconds. I would have had maybe half a second after that to end the fight, and no warning to plan for it. Demonstrating our skills was not worth the risk of death or injury."

"Do you know what Iraisen was talking about, the difference between fighting and dancing?"

Raiden shrugged, "A little. Yohko's always been big on semantics. And yes, that's her description of herself. It wouldn't have worked for Mitsumi and I, though. We're both too competitive, too emotional."

That comment got several disbelieving looks, but Hiashi kept control of the conversation. "Yohko is less emotional than you are?"

"Fewer strong emotions tied in to each other." Hinata gave him a sharp look, but he just shook his head slightly and continued, "Yohko has always been very logical. My self-control is excellent, but Yohko is just as good, as she will probably demonstrate shortly. They're about to move, Mitsumi's getting impatient."

------------------------------

Impatience was only part of it. For several minutes, she and her sister had stood precisely two meters apart, shifting slowly through several stances, moving in a circle, testing each other. Mitsumi was never one to sit still for very long, and the slow measured testing annoyed her. Also, she knew perfectly well that Yohko was smarter than she was, and that the longer she waited, the longer Yohko had to study her form and condition.

The only thing that caused her to hesitate as long as she did was the unfamiliar nature of the dance. Pure taijutsu was not something they were used to, not something any of the Guardians were used to. Juubei came the closest, with his focus on weaponry, but even that was only as an avenue for ninjutus techniques. What the two of them were attempting now was as much an experiment as her kuchiyose had been when she first showed it to Hinata, if in a slightly different way.

Uncertainty could only hold her back for a short time, however. Mitsumi's form of Ryu-jutsu, the Fire Dragon Style, was based on speed and flash, a flamboyant style that aimed to intimidate as much as injure. She reminded Yohko of that now, but lunging forward, leading with an open right hand. Yohko blocked the attack easily, and the follow-on strike with the left just as easily. But when she moved to counter, Mitsumi dodged instead of blocking, rolled her hips to one side, and slid one lightning-fast hand in a gentle brush along Yohko's jaw. Surprise caused Yohko to flip away from the fight, in a mirror image of Mitsumi's extraction.

Landing now a good fifteen meters apart, the two of them froze, evaluating, and Mitsumi smiled widely and sang out, "Tag, you're it." Then she bolted sideways, pouring chakra through her legs in an attempt to outpace Yohko's vision.

------------------------------

As her sister vanished, Yohko relaxed her eyes to scan the widest possible area, tried to forget the opening moves and focus on finding Mitsumi. The touch had been a surprise, and it shook Yohko more than she would have expected. Admittedly, Mitsumi was always the hardest of her siblings to predict in battle, but even so, Yohko could usually track the first few moves. The fact that she had been so random did not bode well.

But however unpredictable Mitsumi had become, she was still Yohko's sister and team-mate, and Yohko smiled as she found the red-haired kunoichi behind the scorched remains of the Arena's sole tree. _Strike and fade,_ Yohko remembered, _she always tries to become invisible after an attack._ Yohko watched her, debating. Any movement towards Mitsumi would show that Yohko knew where she was, and there was more than enough distance for Mitsumi to bolt again. The speed with which she moved after her taunt had been too fast for Yohko to track, though she did not think Mitsumi could maintain that velocity. So moving towards her was not an option. But she had shuriken, kunai, and wire available, all considered taijutsu weapons. She could even toss some of her scrolls, since they had agreed not to use genjutsu.

But after that, she would be faced with the same problem, how to track Mitsumi without genjutsu or ninjutsu. _Well, she has got to be using her vision technique,_ Yohko reasoned, _so I should be allowed to enhance my senses. But Mitsumi is the only one who has done that, but only enhancing vision, none of the other senses, and competing with her for visual acuity is a lost cause. So I have to go on what I know of her approach. Hit and run, aggressive, showy, emotional. How will she react? How to keep track of someone moving too fast…_ Yohko smiled at that though, and completed it, _by moving just as fast._

Realizing she was taking too long when Mitsumi shifted to the other side of the tree and crouched, Yohko decided to go with the flow and try to force Mitsumi to go where she wanted her. Throwing a handful of shuriken at the wrong side of the tree from Mitsumi, Yohko charged for where she thought Mitsumi would run to – the Arena wall several meters across the shuriken's line of flight.

Mitsumi moved there, sure enough, but again with that phenomenal boost of speed. All Yohko could see was the blur of her initial lunge, and another at the point of impact, which cratered abruptly as another blur passed over it. Yohko saw the impact, and spun sideways just in time to avoid Mitsumi's landing. The larger girl hit the ground with both feet, a meter or so behind where Yohko had been standing, hard enough to dig a trench as she bled off momentum.

Yohko was on her before she could bolt again, sliding into a spinning kick to try and knock her down. Mitsumi managed to bounce over that, spinning counter-clockwise in mid-air to try and slam a fist into Yohko's shoulder. Now that she could see her sister, however, Yohko had all the warning in the world, rolling the shoulder backward to clear the blow, then planting the same hand on Mitsumi's shoulder, behind her strike, rolling her shoulder forward again to throw Mitsumi's spin off-center.

Mitsumi landed face down, but shoved sideways immediately before Yohko's foot could land on her back, rolling to her feet in time to slap Yohko's knife-hand away with her right hand and try a punch at Yohko's extended left knee. Yohko countered by twisting her knee aside, then bringing her heel up to her rump, pinching Mitsumi's wrist behind her knee. Falling straight down, she forced Mitsumi down, her other leg flashing out to wrap around Mitsumi's neck and shoulder, not quite enough for a sleeper hold, but still pinning the larger girl face-down.

"You're cheating," Mitsumi growled, pushing against Yohko's holds. "Holds are Water Dragon style, not Air Dragon."

"Whatever works," Yohko replied, using one of Mitsumi's favorite excuses against her, "and at least I have refrained from using my chakra."

"Tche, taijutsu allows chakra, for pure physical enhancement." Mitsumi shifted, but Yohko managed to retain her hold. She could not bring her hands into play, other than to stabilize herself, since Mitsumi was too far away, but for the moment her legs had strength enough. But Mitsumi still had a hand free as well. "Taijutsu also allows weapons," she added, and that free hand flipped up from behind her back, a negligent maneuver that had barely enough strength to get the cloud of shuriken two meters in the air.

Yohko took a split second to admire the ingenuity. If Yohko held her place, those shuriken would land on both of them, and while the injuries would be minor, they would still hurt, still create weaknesses. But if Yohko tried to deflect them, she would probably loose her grip on Mitsumi. An easy enough decision, which left only extricating herself from her sister and the shuriken without having their current positions reversed.

_Oh, this is fun,_ she thought, smiling back at Mitsumi's manic grin.

------------------------------

"Hinata, have you taught Jyuuken to anyone other than Raiden and Mitsumi? I believe I know how they came to learn it, but if the other members of your group are learning our family's style, I will be forced to take action." Hiashi still did not look away from the match, as Yohko and Mitsumi launched away from one another, and his tone was perfectly calm and unemotional, with only the barest hint of curiosity.

"Hai, father, only Raiden and Mitsumi. They learned the basics through the binding. I would not teach it to anyone."

Sasuke gave the two of them a confused look, "What brought on that question, if I may ask?"

"Mitsumi's block," Raiden answered, "just before Yohko caught her fist and pinned her. The block was Jyuuken style, though the rest of her form wasn't, she sealed one of Yohko's tenketsu." He nodded at the two squaring off again on the field, "look at her stance now, as well. That's pure Jyuuken."

"How skilled is she with it?" Neji asked, "her form looks a little loose, like..." he trailed off, looking sideways.

"Like mine," Hinata finished for him, "which makes sense as she did not learn it, but had it impressed upon her by my memories. Watch, Neji-nii-san, and judge her skill for yourself."

------------------------------

Mitsumi watched her sister settle, and grinned, dropping her right hand to her hip, leading with her left. Yohko's sudden freeze, followed by a shift in posture to a more defensive stance showed when she recognized Mitsumi's new threat.

"I thought we agreed no ninjutsu," Yohko said, sounding more amused than concerned.

"This isn't ninjutsu," Mitsumi countered, "Jyuuken is a recognized form of _tai_jutsu, as you well know, bookworm."

"Debatable point," Yohko started sliding sideways, slowly and openly, apparently just moving for the sake of movement. "Taijutsu does not generally utilize chakra, yet Jyuuken makes great use of it."

"But it's a hand-to-hand style, the chakra merely enhances the physical attacks," Mitsumi countered, breaking her normal style by remaining in one place, rotating slowly to continue facing Yohko, "same as us using chakra to boost our reflexes."

"Speaking of that," Yohko said, and Mitsumi could hear her smiling, "I finally figured out how you were doing that. Close enough to..."

Mitsumi started when her sister vanished, a blur of blue chakra followed by nothing but faint traces leading to her left. _Kuso,_ she cursed, then bolted herself, straight back to the wall. She saw the traces coming closer, but still only managed a block, instead of catching another tenketsu as she had hoped. Yohko did not stick around for another try, but vanished again, and Mitsumi chuckled, moving on her own. She had no idea where Yohko was, but was confident her sister would show herself in time.

------------------------------

"What are they doing," Hanabi muttered, "I can't follow them."

"No one can follow them, Hanabi," Raiden said, "that's the point. What they're doing is simple in theory – bursts of chakra down the legs at the moment of motion, turning what should be a light hop into a long and fast jump. The timing and amount of chakra are what make it tricky. Too much chakra, and you don't have enough time before landing to get set."

"It's a good way to move about fast, but it takes a lot of chakra and leaves some obvious traces," Juubei added, gesturing at the impact crater just visible around the Arena curve, where Mitsumi had hit before being pinned by Yohko.

"Shunpo, Mitsumi calls it," Yohko offered, "Flash Step." When everyone turned to look at her in surprise, she smiled, and settled down onto the end of the bench, leaning sideways on Juubei's shoulder. "Pardon me, I need a bit of a break while I figure out how to slow her down."

That finally got Hiashi's attention, and he turned to give her a measuring look. "Should you be up here, Genin?"

"Anything within the outer circumference of the Arena wall is 'in bounds', so as long as I stay off the top tier, I am technically fine." She tapped one finger against her jaw as she contemplated, "it is probably somewhat dangerous, as someone might get hurt if Mitsumi were to pursue me here without thinking, but that is unlikely. As for why I am here, I felt the need for someplace peaceful to sit for a moment, until she tires of flitting about trying to find me."

"Yohko," Raiden was leaning out sideways, head twisted around to stare at her, "hiding behind our chakra auras isn't going to work."

"Why not?"

"Because I asked myself," Mitsumi growled, "if I were one of us, and trying to hide from me, where would I go? Then I realized, the best place to hide a chakra aura is behind a brighter one." She was standing behind Yohko, arms crossed, glaring at her sister as one foot slowly tapped on the floor.

Yohko rolled her head back and smiled up at Mitsumi, "Ah, onee-chan, you found me! I was beginning to worry."

Mitsumi swatted her forehead, a gentle slap more than a strike, "Baka! We're supposed to be showing these people what we can do, not scaring them witless." She pointed out to the Arena floor, "Get back out there! Now!"

"Hai, hai," Yohko stood slowly, dusting herself off, then gave Lord Hyuuga a very precise and formal bow, holding it until he returned the gesture. Then she rolled over Raiden's head and vaulted the wall, Mitsumi a second behind her.

Picking himself up off the floor, Raiden shook his head to settle his senses again, glaring at where the two girls had disappeared straight down. Straightening his own clothes, he complained, "What is it with everyone and embarrassing me today?"

"Payback," Kuma offered, "for Mitsumi."

"You deserve it," Hanabi said, "arrogant brat."

"You should be used to it by now, Raiden," Hinata said, "though I suspect it will calm down once the stress of the exams is over with."

"It's still bloody annoying."

------------------------------

Half an hour later, the two girls were still dancing. It was, far and away, the longest Chunin Exam fight anyone could remember, and looked to be going strong for the rest of the hour. The pair had ranged over the entire Arena, and left a swath of devastation in their wake, though they had been careful to avoid anything more active than pursuit through the crowd. They fought on the Arena floor, on the roof of both sets of stands, on the rail in front of the Kages, on the narrow lip of the Arena wall over the gates, even through the observation bay from which they had watched the prior matches.

To those that knew them, it was obvious that both Mitsumi and Yohko were creating simple techniques on the fly, not quite ninjutsu, but more than simply physical enhancement. Like the flash-step, they lacked the refined control and shaped purpose of true ninjutsu, but still involved the molding of chakra, in greater and greater amounts. It was also obvious that the two of them were having a grand time playing what amounted to a particularly violent game of tag, trading the positions of 'pursued' and 'pursuer' rapidly. Even those shinobi that did not know them could tell that the two of them, true to their conversation at the start, were not in the least interested in determining a victor to this match.

Finally, as the crowd began to grow restless, Tsunade signaled Asuma. He sighed, shook his head, shoved himself off the gates, and strolled out into the middle of the Arena. Yohko and Mitsumi were too preoccupied with another shunpo chase to notice, until he stuck one arm out straight and clothes-lined Mitsumi. She got a hand up in time to keep from loosing her head, but was still flipped almost completely around. Auma caught the front of her jacket with the hand she had not hit, and slung her over his shoulder, while using the other to stop Yohko's pursuit.

"Due to excessive passage of time, the final match is declared a draw. According to the rules of the Chunin Exam Tournament, any match ending in a draw disqualifies both participants. Too bad, girls, you both lose."

Mitsumi, recovering from her surprise at the blow, started struggling, poudnign her fists on his vest, shrieking, "Oi! Lemme down! What the hell are you doing, grabbing a girl like this! Hentai! Ecchi! Lemme go!"

Yohko was significantly calmer, settling for a shrug, followed by, "Thank you for your patience, Asuma-san, it was quite fun dancing like this. If you would prefer, I will take Mitsumi, to spare your ears?"

Asuma looked at her considering her attitude for a moment. "What, no protests, no begging? I'm disappointed."

Yohko shrugged again, "You are the judge for this part of the exam. Arguing with you would be futile and most likely be detrimental to our standing."

Asuma grunted once, then shrugged his shoulder, incidentally chucking Mitsumi at her sister. Mitsumi rolled, but still needed Yohko's steadying hand to keep from stumbling. "Impressive show, girls, but you're both disqualified. No winners to this Chunin Exam! The exam is officially over. Hokage, Kazekage," he bowed to the two of them, "gathered guests, thank you for your attention, and if you will please gather in Hokage Tower, a celebration feast has been assembled in your honor." He bowed again, then started walking for the small rear entrance. "Come on, girls. All candidates get one last talking-to from the Kage's, then you're done."

------------------------------

As the crowd began rising to its collective feet and shuffling for the exits, Anko stretched mightily, and whispered, "So, Kakashi, you want to stay with the gaki while I follow that guy?"

Crouched in his seat, book in hand, Kakashi glanced up at her, then shook his head, "Mah, why bother. Naruto's on it."

Anko blinked, then glanced at the blonde now bouncing around Hinata and Raiden. Then she blinked again, and laughed. "Bloody idiot," she wasn't sure if she was talking about Naruto, Kakashi, or herself, "replaced himself with a clone when he went to the bathroom. You sure you trust him to shadow and Akatuski member?"

"Mah, what's the worst that could happen? Said he'd grab Kiba and Akamaru on the way." Kakashi stood, shivering like a wet dog instead of stretching, and moved to follow his students out of the Arena. "Besides, where was his partner? Better to have us on hand when the attack comes, instead of the recon, ne? I'll bet you thirty that all of them noticed the guy, cloak or not."

Anko laughed, "You're on. Hinata, Raiden, Mitsumi and Juubei noticed, none of the others."

"Should one of us tell Tsunade-sama?"

"We'll have one of the gaki do it, after the feast. Rumiko, probably, she seems to get along relatively well with the old hag. Nothing much to report until Naruto gets back, anyhow."

"Ah, true, true. How long, do you think?"

"Mah, who knows. They'll come when they're ready. We'll be back on missions soon, though. Have to keep our guard up, keep their guards up."

"Not difficult for my team. A hyper-active manic-depressive paranoiac, and an over-observant walking library."

"What about Hinata and Raiden?"

"They would be the manic-depressive and paranoiac portions, baka. Obviously. Now come on, I want to be good and drunk when Tsunade finds out we didn't go after that Akatsuki punk ourselves."

------------------------------

Tzar1990 – Thanks for reading, and for the compliment. Sorry about the delayed update, but I was on a roll with another story, and Yohko's proving to be the most difficult character to write for. And I have little idea how to get from here to where the story ends, so… eh, I'll think of something once I get to writing it out.


	25. 24 Travels & Encounters

**Rise of the Guardians**

By Daishi Prime

- 24 – Travels & Encounters -

"So, what say we start with a review of what Anko's already put you three through?" Shikamaru was lying on a bench beneath an awning, one knee bent, the other hooked over the first, hands cupping his head. He appeared to be staring at the scattered clouds passing by overhead, but was plainly paying attention to his surroundings, as Raiden, Mitsumi and Hinata had barely topped the stairs of the platform when he spoke. "Grab a seat and settle down. You talk, I'll listen, then we'll come up with something relaxing to do to test you three, ne?"

"Anko wasn't exactly detailed in what we were supposed to talk to about, Nara-san," Raiden replied, moving to lean against one of the pavilion's columns.

"Shikamaru's fine," the Jounin replied, lazily waving his dangling foot in a vaguely dismissive way. "Hokage wants me to figure out this link of yours. I've got some housework I should be doing today, but this sounds like a lot less work, so... talk."

"Mitsumi, can you verify this guy?"

Hinata swatted his shoulder, "Raiden! Don't be insulting." Shikamaru just chuckled.

"He's Shika-chan," Mitsumi said after a moment, drawing a twitch and sigh at the disrespectful familiarity, "only jutsu he's got on him right now is a Kagemane, going that way," she pointed south, between a couple of buildings.

"Just keeping an eye on things," Shikamaru said easily. "Just 'cause I'm cloud-watching doesn't mean I'm not paying attention. Now talk, gaki. Don't make this more troublesome than it already is."

Uncomfortable and unwilling though he was, Raiden was here under orders. So, setting his reservations aside temporarily, he waved at Hinata to start. Of the three of them she understood the link the best. For the better part of an hour, that was what they did. In many ways, it was no different from any number of discussions the three of them had held on the subject, save that it was entirely verbal instead of mostly mental. Shikamaru spoke only when necessary to remind them to speak aloud, otherwise merely laying there, listening, watching the clouds float by.

Also as usual, it soon devolved into a debate about how closely the three of them were linked, how much of their mental 'sharing' was unavoidable and how much merely psychological dependence. None of them could really hold to one position in these arguments, there were too many examples all of them could point to of the link being tight or loose, but the debate itself was interesting enough, even for Mitsumi, to keep them going for the better part of an hour. It also ensured they told Shikamaru everything they knew, as the give and take of arguing cleaned out their memories.

He interrupted when the three of them reached their original positions in the debate, "Right, I've got a good idea where you are. Thing is, I'm no expert on minds. Good thing for you kids I've got a friend who is."

"Ino," Hinata said, "I expected her to be here already."

"She should've been," Shikamaru told them, grinning up at the sky, then continued in a somewhat whimsical tone, "but she's been standing at the corner for the past half hour for some strange reason. Should be coming around the corner right about... now."

"Shikamaru!" the screech was deafening, even from a block away.

Hinata glared at the Jounin, "you didn't."

He again settled for just chuckling, as Ino charged up the steps to the platform, leaping the last few and leading with a knee. "Shikamaru! I'll kill you! What the hell was that for!"

Shikamaru blocked her knee with one hand, barely moving but grabbing a hold, and grumbled, "Mandekuso, why do you have such a screechy voice? You were early, these guys were on a roll and I didn't want to interrupt them. It would've taken forever to get them going again. It's not like anything happened to you."

"Sakura saw me! With Lee! And Kiba!" Ino wrenched her knee free, then snarled and spun in place to glare at Raiden. "What the hell are you laughing at, gaki!"

Raiden quirked one eyebrow at her, replying, "Nothing," before adding for Hinata and Mitsumi, _I'd never have believed it, but I think she's actually louder than Mitsumi._

_Urusai, teme,_ Mitsumi sent back, though she was grinning, _no one's louder than me, and I'll prove it if you aren't careful._

_Politely please, children,_ Hinata requested, _she's going to help us figure out this link._ "Ino, please, this is not a good time to be yelling. The post-exam feast went quite late and my father kept me there until it ended."

Ino was instantly apologetic, though only to Hinata, plunking herself down next to her smaller peer on the bench beside Shikamaru's. "So, why'd you want me here again, Shikamaru?"

"You've got all those Yamanaka mind jutsus, right?"

"I know a lot of them, but there are always more techniques. I'm not a Jounin yet, remember? My family won't teach me a lot of techniques until then."

"But you know more than the rest of us do. So, now that I've got a fair idea of how _they_ think the link works, I'd like you to take a look and see how _you_ think it works."

"Should've waited for me to get their report," Ino grumbled, "then I'd know what I'm supposed to be looking for. Now I'm going to have to rehash all of it again."

"Nope," Shikamaru grinned, rolling upright to face her, "I want your clean unbiased opinion. Start from scratch. Prove to me that these three are linked, and how. Ask questions if you want, but you three," he looked at Hinata, Mitsumi and Raiden in turn, "don't volunteer anything unless she asks for it directly."

"Tche, such a great help, Shika-chan," Ino snapped back.

For another half hour, Ino merely asked questions, sometimes of all of them, sometimes of one of them at a time. Most of the questions were straight-forward enough, and easy to understand, but some of them came out of left field. Eventually, she settled back and began attempting to use various techniques against them. To Raiden's discomfort, most of them worked, and he proved to be an apt target. Still, gaining control of their physical forms did little to explore their mental link, save that Ino claimed she had a harder time holding her control than she should have. Whether that was due to the link or to the Guardian's chakra almost began another long debate.

Finally, still watching his clouds, Shikamaru asked her, "What about Thought Stealer?"

Ino twitched, then glared at him. "Urusai, baka! I'm not allowed to learn that one yet. It's only taught to Jounin."

"But you do know it, don't you?"

She flushed a little, then sighed, "How you keep figuring these things out I will never know, Shikamaru. Yes, I know the basics of it. I'm not very good, though, it takes _forever_, and I can't get in unless the target lets me."

"I will let you," Hinata offered, "if you'll explain it to me."

"Thought Stealer is one of the more advanced Yamanaka jutsus," Shikamaru told her. "It lets them get in someone's head without the target necessarily noticing. Once there, they can dig around for the information they need, plant memories, give orders, that sort of thing. Varying usefulness, because like Ino said, it's incredibly difficult to pull off. Most users carry around scrolls to aid them, and it still takes a while. Also leaves some rather obvious traces, if you know what to look for. But when it works, it's a powerful jutsu, worth the trouble."

"I'm not sure I like the sound of that," Raiden said, "letting someone prowl around in our heads? Not a good idea."

"I won't look at anything private," Ino snapped, glaring at him before muttering, "hentai."

"Relax, Raiden," Hinata said, "I trust her, and... I think I remember blocking someone else from doing this, so if I have to, I can stop her."

Ino looked at her wide-eyed, then shook her head, "No way, Hinata-chan. No one can block the Thought Stealer once someone's inside, there are no defenses. Even my family members can't block it."

"But I remember something," Hinata insisted, sounding hesitant and obviously struggling to remember, "a tall woman, short blonde hair, green eyes, pointed face," Hinata's eyes widened slightly, "And an Akatsuki cloak."

"The pair that attacked you and Kakashi's team during the Chunin Exam," Shikamaru said. "We never did identify what villages they came from."

Hinata nodded slowly, "I believe so."

Ino blinked at her, then shook her head, "I don't know anyone like that. Far as I know, every Yamanaka still alive is here in Konoha. We're not the only clan with the Thought Stealer, though, some others have developed or stolen it."

Shikamaru interrupted to return the conversation to topic, "Can you do it, though, Ino?"

She shrugged, "So long as none of you tell my parents, sure."

"Try it on me," Hinata said, "and please, do not look at anything personal, just the link."

"Trust me, Hina-chan," Ino grinned maniacally, "your crushes are safe with me."

------------------------------

Ino took quite a while to set up the jutsu, most of it spent writing and re-writing a scroll. Once the scroll was set, she rolled it up, then sat lotus-style facing Hinata. Holding the scroll in both hands, Ino formed a long, complicated string of seals around it, then thrust her hands towards Hinata, index and long fingers extended, stopping just short of touching Hinata's forehead.

For a couple of seconds, the two of them held that position, immobile. It was more than a little creepy to Raiden, seeing Hinata with such wide eyes but totally unmoving. Then the two girls flinched violently back from each other, both falling off the bench. Hinata rolled upright, with a wince and groan, massaging her temples slowly. Ino's reaction was far more dramatic – she rolled onto her hands and knees, brought one hand up to clutch her stomach, and rather violently lost her breakfast.

Raiden and Mitsumi moved to check Hinata in a single action, while Shikamaru helped Ino regain her balance. It took the two some time to recover, but finally, still struggling to breath normally, Ino looked over at Hinata and said, "girl, you have got one screwed up head in there."

"W... what did you find," Hinata mumbled, "I just remember a flash of you surrounded by white, then... I was back here, and now my head hurts even worse." She was obviously struggling against a massive headache. Raiden could feel it himself, whenever he touched her, a whole-head throbbing that would have driven him nuts in short order.

"There's this thing," Ino told them, "'Bout the Thought Stealer jutsu. Supposedly, there's a way to go inside your own mind and fight whoever's using it on you. But... you've gotta be really good at the Yamanaka jutsus. I mean, _really _good, like... Sanin-level good. No one can really do it, it's just a rumor, a legend, used to scare the Genin out of trying the jutsu before they're trained for it. I think you did that, Hinata. You took me out of your own mind into... someplace else, then all three of you showed up." Ino frowned, looking over the three of them, then added, "Really weird thing was, you all kept calling each other 'Hinata'."

"I... I don't remember any of that," Hinata whispered after a moment, "just a glimpse of you, then a sudden headache when you broke the jutsu."

"I didn't break it," Ino corrected her, "I couldn't get out when you turned it around on me. God that was scary."

Shikamaru took in the exchange, and asked, "Would you be willing to try again, Ino? Maybe with Mitsumi or Raiden."

"Me," Raiden said, "I'm next."

"No way in Hell," Ino said, voice a whisper as she stared at Raiden. "Whatever's inside Hinata's head, the 'you' in there was way too freaky." Her voice climbed an octave, "You were talking about skinning me!" She sucked in a breath and visibly calmed herself before continuing, "Not you! In fact, none of you. I'm sorry, Hinata-chan, but I... it's just..."

"It's alright, Ino-chan," Hinata said, "I know how dangerous everything involved in the Seal is. Raiden, Mitsumi, did either of you sense anything?"

"No," Raiden answered, "just your headache after the jutsu ended."

"There was something right before it," Mitsumi said, "a twinge, like something around me... I don't know... shifted." She frowned, then glared at Raiden, "No idea what it was, but it was probably his fault."

Shikamaru pushed for a while longer, pulling a detailed report out of Ino of exactly what she had seen, and pushing the three Guardians for any and every piece of information he could get. Raiden had to admit that, despite the names used, the three figures Ino had encountered did sound rather like himself, Mitsumi, and Hinata, at least in personality. Finally, however, with Ino still refusing to try again, he decided it was time to move on to the next experiment. "Tomorrow, Anko's team is being sent to one of the medical farms. They need some extra labor for a harvest, and you guys drew the short straw. Hinata, you're not going with them." he held up a hand to cut off Raiden's instant protest, "Wait, there is a reason. One of you isn't going, and Hinata is the best option for that.

"Kakashi's team is going to Suna again, escorting the Kazekage at his request. He's curious about you seven, and Tsunade wants to indulge him in the interests of minimizing paranoia. Keep in contact, check in with each other regularly and keep notes about when, where, how clear the link is, what sort of information you can send, all of that. When you all get back, I want a complete report from all three of you, detailing all of this. We'll talk it over again then. Any questions?" At three shaking he heads, he nodded, rolled back to lay on the bench again, and ordered, "Raiden, go get something to clean up the mess here. The rest of you, dismissed."

------------------------------

The medical farm was tucked into a small valley south of Konoha, a lower spot with a small pond and several streams making terracing and irrigation easy. Like most such places, it relied more on innocuousness than strength for protection, and on the fact that most of what was grown here needed to be processed prior to being useful, and was too bulky before being processed to be easily transported. Which processing usually fell to Genin, at least in the initial, non-dangerous stages.

Looking down on the farm from the last rise in the road, pausing as Mitsumi continued, Raiden shook his head. "I can't believe how insulting this feels. A D rank mission? Us?" Below him, three wood-frame buildings were clustered about a well, surrounded in turn by several large green-houses, then the tiered fields.

Anko swatted him once on the shoulder, "You're spoiled, gaki! Most of us had to struggle through hundreds of these missions as Genin. You should feel honored, for how well you've been treated until now! And lucky you never pissed off Tsunade enough for her to dump one on us. At least, not until all six of you failed the Exam."

"It's still insulting," Raiden muttered, shifting his pack back into place and starting down the hill, "and Yohko and Mitsumi didn't fail, they were forced to forfeit."

Anko grinned, "Ah, you're just uncomfortable without your security blanket, aren't you? Missing Hina-chan's company already?"

Raiden shot her a glare, then admitted, "Yes, actually, I am. She's too damn far away, feels like I'm off balance all the time."

Mitsumi stopped then, a few meters further on, then twisted half around to look back at the rest of the team, "Oi, Yohko, how many people at this farm again?"

"Eight," Yohko answered immediately, "one shinobi guard, two nurses to verify the harvests, two farmers, the nurses' spouses in this case, and a trio of children. Why?"

"I got no one," Mitsumi told her, "not a single chakra-signature in the whole place."

"No one?" Mitsumi just gave her a look, and Yohko shrugged, "Sorry, it's just..."

"A problem," Anko said, stepping up next to Mitsumi and studying the farm intensely. After a moment, she continued, "Right, assume the worst and all your surprises will be pleasant ones. On guard, gaki. Mitsumi, keep searching for chakra signatures. The rest of you, remember, people have fooled her technique before. We'll move in, develop better info, and decide what to do from there. If we encounter trouble, fall back on this hill. Spread out, and let's move in."

------------------------------

"Gah, someone get me a fan," Juubei whined, sprawling on the side of a dune. "It's too damn hot here."

"Fan's won't help," Temari commented, sitting in the shade of her own, "not enough for a soft-skinned foreigner like you."

"Bury yourself," Kuma recommended, sitting next to his teammate, "sand'll insulate you."

Juubei shot him a dirty look, "What, and trust you guys to dig me up when you leave? Not a chance, I'd rather bake."

"Then stop complaining," Temari ordered. "You're a shinobi, on a mission. You're supposed to be polite, diplomatic and stoic, to impress us with your manly toughness and ninja will. Stop whining like some Academy brat on survival training."

"She is correct, Juubei," Hinata told him, "complaining about heat in the desert makes little sense. Though I do wish we were traveling at night."

"No you don't," Temari countered, shaking her head, "at night, it's freezing cold. Either way, the desert's no place to spend time."

Hinata smiled, "But at night, I have an advantage in detecting potential threats. During the day, anyone can see farther than Mitsumi's vision jutsu. At night, the jutsu can see farther. Also, you can always wear a coat when it gets cold."

Rumiko tapped her shoulder, then asked, How are you doing, Hinata-nee-san? This far from the others?

Hinata closed her eyes and mentally prayed for patience, "I am... getting better, Rumiko." Rumiko had been asking her the same question almost as often as Hinata had been checking in with Raiden and Mitsumi.

"No more dizzy spells," Temari asked, "or vision shifts?"

Hinata sighed, and shook her head. Everyone in the party, even those whom she had never met previously, had been very careful of her since this journey began. One incident the first day out, and everyone started treating her like she was made of glass. Even _Gaara _was being careful and solicitous of her, which was fundamentally disturbing. "No, Temari-san, I have not had any more problems that severe."

"Yeah, we'd've noticed something that impressive," Temari agreed, "grown ninja falling face first into the mud on a flat track. Embarrassing that was. But what about less severe symptoms, eh? Anything at all?"

She's a worse mother-hen than you are, Hinata signed to Rumiko, who grinned, but responded more politely verbally, "I am fine, Temari-san. Just the occasional twinge, and even those are just as likely to be caused by the length of this journey."

"I am not," Temari muttered, then smiled and poked her shoulder, "Ehhh, getting out of shape are you? Going soft, with all these kiddy missions?"

Hinata scowled at her momentarily, then shook her head. "No, Temari-san. Just not used to taking such a leisurely pace. Anko prefers to travel more rapidly. Why are we stopping now, anyhow? We've been eating lunch on the move, so why...?"

"Genjutsu. Whenever I leave my village, I require a particular genjutsu to be maintained at all times," Gaara said from where he was standing, still as a statue, atop the dune the rest of the party was half-way down. "It shields Suna from intruders while I am not present to deal with them myself."

"There are scouts out," Temari added, "they'll take word back to Suna that we're here, then the genjutsu will drop, and we'll proceed in. Takes a bit, though, we're still a couple hours out from the village."

Hinata blinked, then brought up Mitsumi's vision technique. Sure enough, extremely faintly, she could see threads of chakra spread out over the ground around them, the basis for a large-area genjutsu. It actually extended beyond them, in part, further from the village. "That's... impressive. Yohko would love to see this."

"No," Gaara said, "Iraisen will never see this. She would copy or subvert it too easily."

Hinata nodded, he was probably right after all. Still, she committed as much of the structure as she could see to memory, to share with her sister later. It would probably not be enough to re-create the genjutsu precisely, but it would give Yohko something to worry at when she got bored.

"While we wait, I wanted to ask you some questions, Hyuuga-san."

Hinata blinked away Mitsumi's jutsu and looked up to find Gaara now standing behind her, glaring down past his crossed arms. "Ano... about what?"

"The Seal."

Hinata looked up at him for a moment, then at Juubei, Kuma and Rumiko. All three of them had been relaxed, but were now tense and wary, watching the Kazekage carefully. Catching Juubei's eye, Hinata made a calming gesture, "You may ask, Kazekage-sama, but I am not required to answer you. It is a forbidden technique in Konoha, so I can reveal very little of it."

Juubei's eyes widened, and he looked even more frightened. Looking back up, Hinata could understand why. The small red-haired man leaning over her, one of the most dangerous killers in the entire shinobi world, was smiling widely at her. "Trust me, Hyuuga-san," he said, "I'm well aware of why it's forbidden. So, let's begin."

------------------------------

Shikamaru walked quietly into the office, closing the door gently but securely behind him. Privacy as assured as it could ever be, he continued across the room until he was the prescribed two meters, then waved negligently, "You called, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade grunted once in exasperation at his lackadaisical attitude, then shook it off, "You've trained one of them directly, and had a chance to talk to the terrible trio. What's your opinion of these 'Guardians'?"

Shikamaru shrugged, "Eh, I won't really be ready to report until after they get back. Other than that, what can I say that you haven't already told me? They're crazy, have a ridiculous amount of chakra, and can't manage even the most basic ninjutsu exercises without cheating. They've got potential."

"You read the journal?"

"Yup."

She waited a few seconds before realizing he was not going to expand on that casual answer. "What did that tell you?"

"Exactly what you told me, Hokage-sama," he said, grinning slightly, "although, it appears to have been rather heavily… edited. There were parts missing, possibly some large parts, definitely significant."

Tsunade frowned at him, "How can you tell? I still haven't been able to make heads or tails of the original."

"Really, Hokage-sama, it's a basic tenant of solving any mystery," Shikamaru said, shaking an admonishing finger at her, "recreate the circumstances, and see where your results vary from what originally happened. Hinata told me the substitution code used in the original, and while I can't get past Yondaime's seal to decode it myself, I could take the copy you gave me and re-encoded it. Came up with a journal about two-thirds the size of the original." He reached beneath his vest and pulled out a book, flipping it to land on her desk. "That's the re-encoded one."

"Damn gaki," Tsunade snarled, hefting the copy that, even without direct comparison, she could tell was smaller than the actual journal, "I told them not to hold anything back!"

"Can't really expect them to tell you everything," Shikamaru commented, "Kodachi's even more paranoid than Sasuke, doesn't trust anyone except his siblings, and the others are almost as bad. Even Hinata's gotten real cagey about what she'll talk about. Besides, they're shinobi."

Tsunade sighed, nodding her agreement. "No shinobi ever reveals all their secrets, even to their friends, allies and family. There are times when I really hate this life."

"All of us do, eventually," Shikamaru said.

"What about the link Hinata has with Raiden and Mitsumi?"

Shikamaru was silent for a moment, relaxed expression fading into a frown. After a moment, he asked, "Can I ask you a question first, about them?" Tsunade gave him a questioning look, then nodded. "Hinata is dependant on them, the other two, isn't she?"

Tsunade's eyes widened in surprise, and she hissed, "How did you know that?"

Shikamaru shrugged, "I pay attention, Hokage-sama. The way she reacts to them, the way they react to her, other things. I watched them through the whole Chunin exam, like you asked me to, and paid attention. What I'm not sure of is, how strong is the dependency?"

Tsunade considered him for a moment, then nodded, "You understand this is classified information, even more so than most of what you know, right up there with the identities of the current Akatsuki. Understood?" It was Shikamaru's turn to nod, but she still hesitated before telling him, "Hinata is utterly dependant on those two kids. Her heart and respiratory rates, sensory readings, all her vitals, even her blood chemistry, precisely match either Kodachi Raiden or Mitarashi Mitsumi. Only her chakra and personality are different, and even there the influence of those two gaki goes far beyond what such recent acquaintances should have, more like what I'd expect out of twins. Those two do not show similar mutual dependency, as you termed it. You understand now why I am concerned, and why I have not told her father?"

Shikamaru was, to say the least, stunned. No two people, not even newborn twins, were ever that closely matched in all their vitals. It simply was not possible, the human body was too variable, too individualized, for two people to read so similarly. "Kuso," he whispered after a moment, "if anything happens to one of them…"

"It will most likely happen to Hinata, as well," Tsunade agreed.

"Yeah, I can see why you're concerned." He paused, still contemplating that, disturbed by the thought that Hinata was so vulnerable, disturbed by the idea of _anyone_ being that vulnerable. Then he shook himself, remembering everything he had observed, "Well, in that case, I have to say I feel sorry for Akatsuki."

Tsunade blinked, then ordered, "Explain."

He shrugged again, "You told me the main reason you want me to look into this is because Akatsuki's showing an unusual amount of interest, ne? Well, like I said, I've watched them. I haven't seen the trio of them fight against a single opponent, but I've talked with anyone who has, and taking on those three simultaneously would be… unpleasant. Especially with what Kodachi and Mitarashi learned preparing for the Chunin Exam. Hinata's control and experience, Kodachi's ruthlessness and willpower, Mitarashi's unpredictability… I wouldn't want to fight that, not all at once in three separate but unified packages. If Akatsuki goes after these kids, they'll fight back. They won't be as bad as Naruto when he lets the Kyuubi loose, but the three of them at once?" Shikamaru shook his head, "I feel sorry for Akatsuki, especially if they're expecting to face just a Chunin and two Genin."

Tsunade nodded, understanding what he was saying, "Let's hope that's all they expect, then."

"Especially since I sent them off in different directions," Shikamaru muttered.

------------------------------

The farm was apparently abandoned. The largest of the three central buildings was the barn, filled with various farm tools, all of which were well maintained and neatly stored, with a small space in the upper rafters that had been used as an apartment. The two smaller buildings were houses, both with the 'occupied' feel of a lived-in house, one as neatly arrayed as the barn, the other slightly messier but still clean. All three were empty of current signs of life, but showed no signs of having been either abandoned, or emptied suddenly.

The ring of greenhouses were similarly empty but orderly. Long shelves of plants, all closely trimmed and carefully labeled, connected by clean but dry irrigation chutes. Here, too, there were tools, smaller but just as well made, neatly arrayed on storage racks. Everything was ready for use, waiting for people who simply were not there.

Pausing before leaving the last greenhouse, Raiden stared back into the orderly profusion of green, frowning in thought. Wherever the people who were supposed to be here had gone, they had done so calmly, unhurriedly, and without expecting to be gone long. Which was impossible, in practical terms if not absolute, without the intervention of a shinobi. Reaching out, he asked, _Anything, Mitsumi?_

_Not a twitch,_ she answered from somewhere on the far side of the farm, where she and Anko were searching, _no active genjutsu, no chakra signatures, no traces of prior jutsus of any type. Oh, there's a little over the barn, but there was a shinobi guard, remember?_

"Yohko, any ideas?"

"Look for footprints," his sister said, suiting actions to words and scanning the ground around the greenhouse. "Too many here," she continued after a moment, "lots of traffic. Perimeter sweep?"

Raiden nodded, passing on to Mitsumi, _Tell Anko, Yohko and I are heading out to check the perimeter for tracks._

_Roger. Don't worry, I'm sure she'll keep the vicious squirrels from attacking you._

Raiden sighed and shook his head. On the one hand, the insult was annoying. On the other, Mitsumi had been quiet since they go here, so having her back to normal was sort of comforting. But it was still annoying.

With Yohko following, Raiden headed out from the cluster of buildings, angling across the surrounding fields rather than along the paths. Paths were too obvious, too easy to trap. The fields would be better, still dangerous but safer than the paths. Scanning for tracks he left to Yohko and her less paranoid mind. His own attention, as point man, was saved for spotting traps and ambushes, looking for any least little sign of danger.

They were quite a ways out, on their second circuit around the farm, when he spotted something. A patch of red, dark and flat, at the edge of a field. Signaling Yohko to wait, he moved closer, carefully, attention focused on the possibility of traps, relying on Yohko to watch around them. When he reached the spot, and looked over the small turned-earth curb that bordered the field, he studied the scene beyond for a moment, then reached for the link. _Mitsumi, tell Anko, I found one of the kids. He's dead, has been for two, three days. No sign of a struggle, and I can't see a wound from here, but there's blood everywhere._

_A kid? Dead? Kuso! Raiden this is the sort of shit..._

_I know, 'Sune,_ He said, trying his best to project calm and failing miserably. In truth, he could feel his own anger boiling just beneath the surface, the cold rage at failing, however indirectly. _The rest of the people we're looking for are probably out here as well. Yohko and I will find them._

_Anko says to stay where you are, we're coming to you._

It took a few minutes, as the Jounin and Genin moved slowly around the farm, as wary for traps as Raiden had been, especially now with proof of recent violence. While they waited, Raiden and Yohko scanned over the area carefully, not ranging far, but beginning to scout. When Anko and Mitsumi reached them, Raiden pointed at another spot in the fields, "Second kid, two more probable bodies further out."

"Ten sets of tracks," Yohko added, voice faded and flat as she controlled her own reaction to the scene. "All of them enter the field here next to the first body."

Anko studied her for a moment, then Raiden, face grave. "You kids are way to cold about this. There are probably seven dead civilians here, and a dead shinobi."

"Emotional over-reaction will gain us nothing, Anko," Yohko answered.

"We still feel it, baa-chan," Mitsumi said, "but we don't show it."

"We direct it, use it." Raiden added, then returned to the mission, "we need to be sure they're all here."

Anko glared at him for a minute. It simply wasn't natural that Genin this young were not panicking at the sight of someone younger than they were who had so obviously died by violence. But this place was too dangerous to get into an argument, that could keep until they were safely back in Konoha. "Right, we line-search the field, mark each body. I've sent Chibi back to Konoha, he'll let Hokage-sama know, but once we've found all of the bodies, we're out of here ourselves. It's too dangerous."

"Oh, you wouldn't be calling me merely 'dangerous', would you, Anko-chan? I think I'm insulted, I should at least be considered 'lethal'."

------------------------------

Hinata stopped at the entrance to the tunnel through Suna's walls, turning to face back towards Konoha. "Something is wrong," she muttered.

Those behind her stopped as well, alternating looks between her and each other. Ahead of her, Gaara stopped a few steps further in, turning to give her a considering look as well. "Where? I sense nothing."

"You wouldn't," she said absently, "Mitsumi is enraged, and Raiden has disappeared."

Juubei sucked in a curse, "Is he dead?"

"No," Hinata shook her head, frowning both in concern and thought, "but... Mitsumi's emotions fuel the link, make it stronger. Raiden's deaden it. And neither is answering me. Something is wrong, they are facing a great threat."

Kuma held up a fist, "Haven't triggered the summoning."

"Hmm, then they'll be done before we can get back," Kakashi said, "Either way. May think they can deal with it themselves?"

"We've reached Suna," Gaara commented, "Your team has fulfilled their mission, Kakashi. You may depart for Konoha now, if you wish, rather than proceeding within the village proper. I won't hold it against Konoha."

Kakashi looked over the short red-head, then nodded, "I think that would be a good idea. Even if Anko's team can deal with whatever threatens them, there'll be trouble from it, I'm sure. My thanks, Kazekage-sama."

Gaara waved that away, then caught Hinata's hand. The gesture caused her to flinch and stare at him in surprise. Gaara never touched anyone. "Thank you for the debate, Hyuuga-san, it was rather interesting," he told her, smiling again, "you gave away more than you thought, but not as much as I expected. We'll resume the discussion when next you come to Suna." Then he turned, and disappeared into the darkness of the gate-tunnel, following Temari and the rest of his bodyguard.

As the Konoha shinobi turned and began their return home, Rumiko asked, Any idea at all what's happening, Hinata?

Hinata shook her head, "only that it has them very angry."

"Tche, I just realized," Juubei muttered, "they're probably fighting each other again."

"No, Mitsumi and Raiden feel different when they fight, and they do not fight when they are angry with each other. Raiden would not allow it, and Mitsumi... has other reasons not to. Someone is threatening them. Someone dangerous."

"Someone like me, do you think?"


	26. 25 Dawn

**Rise of the Guardians**

By Daishi Prime

- 25 – Dawn -

The two figures standing in the field were tall, one massively built, the other built like a racer. Both wore wide straw hats, and ground-length black cloaks, adorned with red clouds, thrown back over their shoulders. The larger stood slightly further away, and further out, blocking them from escaping the farm.

"Kisame and the new kid," Anko stated, "Why are you letting the kid do the talking, Kisame? Scarecrow got your tongue?"

"Watch your mouth, reject," Kisame snarled back, maimed hand tensing on the hilt of broken Samehade.

"You aren't worth his time, Anko-chan," Tetsuo told her with a smile, "since our orders don't concern you. But what about you three, hmm? Master's very interested in talking to one of you… well, _any_ of you, actually."

"We aren't interested," Raiden said softly, shifting into stance and focusing his attention on Tetsuo. _Mitsumi, you're our best chance to match his speed, based on Rumiko's report._

_Just make sure you hit him the first time,_ Mitsumi replied.

_Don't fade yet, wait for him to move._

_Don't tell me how to do what I do best,_ she snapped back, but she remained visible, and began sliding to Raiden's right, widening the distance between her position and Yohko's.

Tetsuo chuckled, "Don't tell me you kids actually think you have a chance against a pair of S-Class criminals? What _are _they teaching at that Academy these days?"

"Academy has nothing to do with this," Raiden said, "You are a clear and immediate threat to Konoha's safety, one that must be eliminated at any cost. ROE Omega." He felt Mitsumi and Yohko tense behind him, and grinned at Tetsuo. Not that the girls had been taking this lightly, but he had just put this fight on a totally different level than what these two were expecting.

"Back off, Raiden," Anko ordered, "We're not up to this right now."

"Oh, but we went to so much trouble to arrange this lovely greeting for you, Anko-chan," Tetsuo said, almost whining, gesturing at the field which hid this farm's dead.

"Your murders have no bearing on us," Anko said. "Back off, Raiden. I'll slow them down, you get word back to Konoha."

"We can't have that," Tetsuo countered, "Kisame, why don't you entertain the reject while I spring the offer on the kids?"

"I'd rather be killing Kakashi."

"Which is probably why the Master gave that job to someone else, ne?"

While they argued, Raiden shifted, checking Yohko and Mitsumi, gathering his chakra tight, then lunged forward. Mitsumi had declined to show him how to manage shunpo, as had Yohko, but he understood the basics enough to manage something close, and for split second thought he was fast enough. His fist caught the edge of Tetsuo's hat, shattering the straw construct instantly, but the missing-nin disappeared between Raiden's fist hitting the edge of the hat and his landing.

A ring of metal on metal behind him brought his attention around, and he found Tetsuo, facing off with Mitsumi. Both of them had kunai out, but were not in contact, a little less than a meter apart. "Baaaka," Mitsumi drawled, "I can see you bright as day."

"Ah, then we're even," Tetsuo smirked, "I could sense you kids even before you left Konoha. It's pathetic how obvious you are, I even knew that your team was coming out here one short."

Raiden started sliding left, vaguely aware of a thunderous crash to his right where Anko had been. He had to concentrate on Tetsuo, however. Words were one thing, but taking down someone good enough to be Akatsuki, good enough to be paired with an infamous monster like Kisame, was going to take all his focus. _Mitsumi, be careful. Your burn or my bolt?_

_Little from column A, little from column B,_ she replied, still grinning at her opponant. "Silly boy," she said aloud, "You can't follow what doesn't exist." Then she wavered and vanished.

Tetsuo shifted back, not flinching just opening his senses to a wider area, and his smile became less sadistic and more amused, "Oooh, good. All three of you are working against me. This could actually be a challenge then. I haven't had fun in..." He cut off, spinning sideways and sweeping a vicious kick through empty air. Raiden felt the impact echo through the link, even as Mitsumi lost her focus and became visible, sailing through the air. "... months, maybe even years," Tetsuo finished.

_I'm fine,_ Mitsumi told him, _blocked it before it hit, but damn he's good._

"You may be invisible, girl, but you still make noise, and you still leave tracks." Tetsuo shifted, looking over all three of them. He was now in the center of a triangle, as Raiden and Yohko moved in, but he did not look in the least surrounded. "Now, let's have some fun, shall we?"

------------------------------

"I'd like to think I qualify as at least 'dangerous'."

Hinata skidded to a halt, and the stranger who had appeared beside her kept going, stopping more gently a few meters away, black cloak floating around him to settle concealing a moment later. He was about her size, which put him towards the lower end of shinobi size, with a thin wasted appearance. He radiated a sense of wrongness that she quickly identified as a permanent low-grade killing intent. This man quite obviously looked at everyone else in the world as a victim waiting to die.

The woman who landed next to and slightly behind him was taller, broader but not terribly so, with short blonde hair and piercing green eyes. Beside the blatant hostility of her compatriot, she was almost ignorable, but she looked awfully similar to the woman she had told Ino about.

"Akatsuki," Kakashi spoke calmly, and Hinata did not know him well enough to predict how much of that was an act.

"Ooh, so the scarecrow has eyes," the man said again, smiling confidently, "Good, I much prefer to kill people who know what's about to happen to them."

Kakashi sighed, "Hmm, should've let me finish kid. I was about to say, 'Akatsuki won't like you imitating them. You should probably loose the cloak before they find you.' Good advice, ne?"

The man snarled, and Hinata thought he would attack instantly, but he managed to restrain himself. "I earned this cloak," he growled out, "I have more than earned my place in Akatsuki, and the power the Master has granted me, and the more power he will grant me on bringing him one of you kids. The rest will die, by the hand of Aku!"

For a moment, the four of them just stared at him. Then Juubei asked, voice tight, "Aku? Would that be... you?"

Aku smiled viciously, revealing canine teeth filed to points, "Of course, boy. Don't worry, you won't have to remember it long."

Despite the situation, despite the feelings of frustration and anger from Raiden and Mitsumi, Hinata could not help giggling, though she did manage to cover it after the fact, pretending to sneeze. Kuma, Kakashi and Rumiko were similarly polite, but Juubei laughed aloud, for several second, "'Evil'? You? Oh, Kami-sama, what a joke! Short little bundle of wires like you is 'evil'?"

"That's enough, Juubei-kun," Hinata managed to get out, "taunting an S-class criminal is pointless."

"And dangerous," Aku snarled, crouching slightly. "Come on, Nori, let's finish this before sand-boy back there realizes something's up and comes for a look-see."

All of them tensed and froze at a distinct meat-chopping sound, then he very slowly keeled over and fell face-first into the sand. Through the small cloud of dust, a single kunai was visible, standing up at the base of his skull, buried to the grip.

------------------------------

Raiden rolled away from Tetsuo's latest counter, coming up cradling his right arm, but on guard. A brief shift told him Tetsuo's counter had broken it again, and a part of his mind wondered what Rumiko would say about it this time. The rest of his attention was on his opponent and teammates. Yohko was further back than he was, trying to set up Tenjin's Maze, but Tetsuo was too fast and had avoided the Maze so far, and seemed able to counter her genjutsu as quickly as he could block kunai. Mitsumi had fallen back when Raiden was sent flying, and was now on his far side, ready and waiting.

The three of them had been struggling against Tetsuo for several minutes now, Yohko in support while Mitsumi and Raiden tried to kill or incapacitate the missing-nin. Their techniques had been as good as always, but they had so far proven unable to overcome his speed, and Raiden thought he knew why. With Hinata so far away, both he and Mitsumi were off-balance and their timing was not as synchronized as it should have been. With the two of them off, they were not able to work with Yohko as well as they should have been. Which meant he was probably going to have to follow through on ROE Omega's removal of all the Guardians' self-imposed limits.

Tetsuo, for his part, was actually breathing heavily, though he had yet to draw any weapon beyond the first kunai, still held negligently in his right hand, and none of the Guardians had managed to land a single real hit. Still, they were pushing him, and all of them knew it. "Damn, kids, I saw your matches and you're _still_ doing better than I expected." Tetsuo shook his head, "but I'm thinking it's time I ended this."

Raiden had just enough time to form a cylindrical barrier around himself before Tetsuo struck. The missing-nin hit with enough force to cause the structure to shatter, sending Raiden sprawling. As he recovered, he heard Mitsumi's cry of pain, and rolled to his feet in time to watch her go flying, though there was no sign of Tetsuo anywhere near her. _He's too damn fast,_ Raiden thought, lunging back to his feet and searching for Tetsuo, _Even Mitsumi can't keep track of him._

"Raiden!" Yohko's shriek got his attention, and when he spun to face her, Tetsuo had her by the throat.

"Thanks for the game, kids, but I've got my prize," Testuo was still grinning, flashed through a series of one-handed seals.

Raiden never generated a Thunderbolt that fast before, generating and throwing it in one second as Tetsuo pressed three fingers to Yohko's forehead. The massive bolt of pure chakra flashed through where the missing-nin had been standing, but Tetsuo spun clear.

Slinging Yohko's unconscious form over one shoulder, he again formed his seals one-handed, shouting, "Katon: Goukakyou no Jutsu!"

The fireball flashed towards Raiden, and he had to lunge sideways. He was conscious of Mitsumi dodging the other way, and moved in unison with her, without needing to say a thing. The two of them barreled forward, both of them forming separate techniques as they cleared the swath of smoke and flame left by the massive fireball. As they cleared the smoke, though, Raiden could find no trace of Tetsuo, not even a foot-print.

Something hit him from the side, latching onto his arm. Before he could counter, he heard, "She's gone!" Mitsumi was practically shouting in his ear, "Yohko's gone! I can't see her anywhere!"

The realization hit him like a mountain. Yohko was gone, taken by Akatsuki, just like that. One of his sisters, his family, and he had been unable to prevent it, due to his own inability to compensate for a little distance. The emotions that exploded inside him at that moment were beyond words. Rage, fear, sorrow, hatred, every emotion he had so carefully controlled and suppressed for four years boiled to the surface in a single instant, a swirling torrent that he could sense echoing from Mitsumi. He grabbed her hand, and the two of them screamed to the heavens, "_HINATA!_"

------------------------------

The woman standing behind the now-dead Aku sneered down at the corpse, while shrugging off her cloak. "Fool. So focused on murdering others, he never realized he had no reason to trust me at his back."

"You... you killed your own teammate," Juubei muttered in a horror-filled voice.

"Set him up, programmed his mind to trust me implicitly, then stabbed him in the back, yeah," she told them, apparently completely unconcerned with the monumental nature of her betrayal. "Tche, he'd've killed me just as quickly, if I'd given him the chance."

"Akatsuki will not let this slide," Kakashi told her, "traitors are killed, are they not?"

Nori chuckled, "I've been planning this departure for months now, Copy-nin. I want power, just like all of the others, but I'm not willing to become someone else's puppet to get it. I'm also not willing to take _this_ lying down." As she spoke, black marks appeared over her skin, spreading from the left side of her neck, dots of ink spreading in rough lines over her white skin.

"Orochimaru," Hinata whispered, "he placed a curse seal on you." Despite that, only half her attention was on the one in front of her. Raiden and Mitsumi were becoming more agitated by the second, but were not responding to her, and she was deeply concerned with what they were facing.

"First stage only," Nori confirmed, "I'll die before I let him place the second. But I'll also have my revenge. The Master of Akatsuki is Orochimaru, the former Konoha shinobi everyone assumes is dead. He managed to transfer himself into a new body moments before Uzumaki's attacks killed him, and fled the scene. He controls the new Akatsuki by intimidation, curse seals, and the promise of power. And at the moment, his greatest interest is the seven of you, and the Yondaime's Seal. He thinks he can adapt it to allow him to use it himself, but wants live examples to study, first. That was our mission here, to retrieve one of you, alive, for him to study. Tetsuo and Kisame were assigned the same mission, but to take a member of the other team. And with that, I'll leave you."

Kakashi shifted, getting her attention before she could vanish, and asked, "Where is Orochimaru?"

Nori shook her head, "that's as far as I go for my revenge, Copy-nin. You and your kids will have to figure out the rest. I am going somewhere my abilities can be appreciated."

The two continued verbal sparring for a few minutes, but Hinata had to tune them out. Raiden and Mitsumi were still spiraling, obviously struggling hard, and the flashes of excitement, fear and pain she kept getting told her the opponent or opponents were very good. Then she felt a swirling burst of something she could not identify, echoing down the link like a tidal wave.

"Kakashi," she interrupted the attempt to argue more information out of Nori. "Get any information from her you can, however you can. Sibs, return to Konoha as quickly as possible, something is wrong with Raiden's team."

Juubei reached for her shoulder, "What are you going to be doing?"

_HINATA!_ She heard the shout, with her mind and her ears simultaneously, and felt two hands suddenly grabbing hers, and her chakra spiraling away. The world washed away in white before she could reply.

------------------------------

Anko was up to her ears in trouble, and she knew it. Kisame was no Itachi, but he was old, skilled, and apparently insensate to pain or fear. She had hit him at least once with her Double-Snake Destroyer, but he had shrugged the blow off. Even worse, the broken remnants of Samehade were still apparently capable of sucking off her chakra, and using it to form a chakra blade in place of the missing original. It was nowhere near the size of the original weapon, or as sharp as the chakra-scalpels she had seen medic-nins use, but it was still dangerous.

She dodged another furious swing, continuing the spin to slam a heel into Kisame's back. But the over-grown fish just tumbled away, and came back up to his feet. He was facing her before she could reach him, slashing at her with the chakra-blade, forcing her to fall back. She whipped a fan of kunai at him to try and throw him off balance, but before they could hit he was blown sideways by a massive burst of chakra, tumbling away to land in a heap at the end of a shallow furrow.

"Where is Orochimaru, Kisame?"

Staring at where that bolt had come from, Anko felt her knees go weak in surprise and more than a little fear. Standing between Raiden and Mitsumi, Hinata was holding one of each of their hands. How she managed to get there from Suna, Anko had no idea, but the fact that the other two had obviously felt it necessary to summon her gave Yohko's absence from the scene an appalling new edge.

When no one responded, the three of them spoke in unison, repeating, "Where is Orochimaru, Kisame?"

"Why should I tell you brats," Kisame snarled, rising to his feet, "Tetsuo's accomplished our mission, now I get to kill all of you."

"You will kill no one else, Kisame," they told him, "you will answer our questions, then you will die. Your only option is how much you suffer before you answer."

"Tche, I know just how over-rated you kids are."

"You know nothing," they told him, finally separating. "Anko, please do not interfere. We cannot be sure we can avoid harming anyone not one with us."

"Wha..." before she could ask what they were doing, the three of them vanished, the space they had been standing exploding in a cloud of dust. Whipping around, she saw Kisame take a swing at a shadow, then the lunge violently with Samehade. The chakra blade slammed into Raiden's outstretched left hand, and detonated. A moment later, the last remnants of Samehade followed, bursting into vapor in Kisame's hand, overloaded by the Guardian's massive chakra aura.

Raiden staggered back, stumbling, but before Kisame could take advantage, Hinata descended from on high in a massive axe-kick. The missing-nin was forced to dodge backwards, but moved right into Mitsumi's spin-kick, which caught him on one hip and spun him hard. Hinata piled on, a series of punches laced with chakra that Kisame, for all his skill and power, was hard-pressed to block or avoid, and before he could get clear Mitsumi crashed into his back again, this time with a pair of Fire Hammers.

Able only to watch, Anko was treated to exactly the sort of unified assault she had always anticipated from her students. The Chunin and two Genin that she had worked with for over eight months now proceeded to demonstrate a level of coordination that she had never seen. Two of them were always attacking, while the third prepared more complicated jutsus, always moving in perfect unison. The attackers were always coordinated, always striking from opposite directions with a simultaneous timing that left Kisame no options, only to break off at precisely the right time to allow the third to slam home whatever technique had been building.

Kisame was skilled. He had been a shinobi as long as Anko, if not longer, and had learned in the harsh school taught by the Village of Mist. He had earned his title as one of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist, and later as a member of Akatsuki, the hard and violent way. He had survived the devastation of the original Akatsuki through skill and knowledge of when to retreat. But now, in a minor farm in Konoha's backwoods, he met his match in three shinobi who's total age might have equaled his, overwhelmed not by numbers, not by chakra, but by the unrelenting, remorseless unity with which they attacked him. It was a shining example of everything Konoha shinobi were taught regarding the virtues of teamwork, and it was a frightening example of just how far from the norm her students had wandered.

For all its ferocity, the battle ended quite soon, with Kisame unconscious on the ground, beaten and bloody. Raiden, Mitsumi and Hinata stood in a triangle around him, breathing hard and sweating, and far from unscathed. Each of them was covered in cuts and bruises from Kisame's blocks and the infrequent counter attacks he had managed. Raiden's right arm was hanging at an odd angle, and he was further favoring his right side. Mitsumi was limping, and a long ragged gash traced an angle across her chest and stomach. The left side of Hinata's face was covered in blood from an ugly forehead gash, and she also appeared to have broken her left arm.

"He's still alive," they told her, still speaking in unison. "We will need his information to verify their lair's defenses. He is not vital, however. If he regains consciousness before being secured, kill him."

Anko had to work for a second to find her voice, "A... what did you..."

"Tetsuo took Yohko," they told her, "a teleportation jutsu we cannot follow. We will track her down, but we will need time to recover from this." The three of them turned and walked a few meters away, ignoring Kisame's body. "When we are ready, we will retrieve her, and slay the one responsible." Anko only managed to catch Hinata as the three of them simply collapsed, tumbling to the ground in utter exhaustion.

------------------------------

When Yohko woke, it was with a sharp-edged suddenness that confused and disoriented her for a few moments. She was suspended in the air, hanging off the floor from loops under her shoulders, arms stretched wide by chains leading to walls on either side. Her legs were strapped together by wide leather bands, and another band held her head fixed forward. Taking in all that, it was simple enough to deduce that Raiden and Mitsumi had not been able to free her from Tetsuo.

The room was rather boring, what she could see of it with the limited range of motion her bindings permitted. Cement walls, cement floor, cement ceiling all of them damp and dull. The coolness, damp, and lack of sound told her she was underground, which was not much of a surprise. Other than that, there was nothing to tell her how long she had been unconscious, how far she had been brought, or where. Nonetheless, she passed the time debating with herself the most likely locations for this Akatsuki interrogation room.

It was some time before anything changed, and she had just about convinced herself she was being held in Sound territory when she heard a rattle of metal, and the squeal of hinges behind her. Soft footsteps sounded, then the door was closed and locked again, the soft sound of breathing telling her someone had entered the chamber with her. A light appeared, the soft yellow glow and lack of sound telling her it was a lantern, a slight rattle telling her when it was hung on the wall behind her.

_Time to play,_ she thought. "Bringing me here was a rather bad idea," she told her captor.

"Hhmmmm? Wasss it, now?"

The hissing sound bothered her, triggering one of her pet peeves, and she decided to test her captor's temper, "the proper pronunciation is 'was', short 's', not drawn out. Please speak properly, otherwise your meaning might be confused."

"Hhmm, aren't you the confident little girl." She finally identified the voice as masculine, though only just. "I will sssspeak asss I will. You will ssspeak asss I tell you too, ne?"

Yohko shrugged, as much as she could given the chains. "Of course I am confident. My siblings will come for you shortly, and by bringing me here, you have guaranteed they will kill you. Even if you kill me now, they will still come to this place, track you from it to wherever you flee, and kill you."

"Hhmm? And jussst how will they do that?"

"The seal I placed on Tetsuo, obviously. It functions as a tracker that any of them can follow. Since Tetsuo is quite obviously an underling, I created it to affix itself to the next person with a stronger chakra signature that he encountered. Which would be you."

He chuckled, a harsh staccato sound, "there wasss no sssuch ssseal on Tetsssuo, nor isss it on me."

"Aho," she muttered, "do you really think I would make it obvious? Visible? Please. I may not have strength of body, but I am far and away smart enough to lay a trap for anyone foolish enough to kidnap me."

He finally moved around in front of her, long gliding steps carrying him under the chain holding her left arm, and she got a good look at him. He was of average height, relatively slim build, with long straight hair hung around slightly slumped shoulder. What truly identified him, however, were the golden eyes with the serpent-slit pupils. He smiled when he saw the recognition in her eyes.

She sighed and hung her head. "Kami-sama, they will never let me live this down," she muttered, "captured by a has-been snake's underling. I suppose I could pass it off as a brilliant plan to capture you, but you are not worth effort..."

He chuckled again, reaching up with on long fingered hand to tap her jaw closed, "Quiet now. You are quite the interesssting little ssspecccimen, girl. I like your ssspirit, but you mussst know I will get all the information I desssire from you. You will tell me all the sssecrets you know, and sssoon. But, it doesss not have to be unpleasssant. I have an opening in my Akatsssuki, I think you would fill it well, with jussst a little ssseasssoning. I can offer you power, to fulfill your dream, knowledge beyond priccce, far more than Konoha can teach you."

She blinked, surprised. _Is he really that ignorant of our motiviations?_ "Unfortunately, Orochimaru, you are, as my brother puts it, a 'clear and immediate threat' to Konoha. Especially now. You understand, all six of my siblings will come here with the express intent of killing you? They will not come to rescue me, they will come to kill you."

He chuckled, "Of courssse, I count on that sssingle-minded obsssesssion. The more sssubjectsss I have to ssstudy, the greater my underssstanding of your ssseal will be, and the more powerful I will be onccce I adapt it for my own ussse."

"You are truly a fool, then. Especially if you think I am going to divulge any information to you."

"You do not fear me, why?"

"Because fearing you is pointless," Yohko replied immediately, in an exasperated tone that showed how obvious she thought the answer was. "Do not mistake me, I am well aware of your capabilities, and your history. But the worst you can do to me is kill me. You cannot possess me as you have your current body, because of my gender and my Seal. You cannot destroy me, for you lack the understanding of what I am. You cannot turn me, because you do not understand why I have become what I am. Finally, you cannot break me, for I was already broken by my Seal. Thus, you can only kill me, and I have no reason to fear death, as beyond death is infinite knowledge, ne?"

He sighed, still smiling, "I understand you better than you think, child. Let usss sssee which of usss underssstandsss the other better, hmmm?" He caught her eyes with his, and whispered, "Tsukiyomi."

------------------------------

Kurisu – thanks for the compliments.


	27. 26 Search & Pursuit

**Rise of the Guardians**

By Daishi Prime

- 26 – Search & Pursuit -

Returning to Konoha took three days. Three days filled with worry, fear, and curiosity in near-overwhelming amounts. Hinata's disappearance in a flash of light and thunder had been surprising enough, only her apparent fore-knowledge of the event prevented Juubei from panicking, though it had still been a near thing. They were three of the longest days that Juubei could remember, even though they were mostly occupied by running.

Dealing with Nori proved to be the simpler than Juubei would have expected. She vanished in the immediate confusion after Hinata disappeared, leaving Aku's body for them to deal with. Given the choice between trying to track her down or going back to Konoha to determine what had happened, Kakashi opted to do neither. They brought Aku's body the to Suna, informed Gaara of events, and left pursuing Nori to the Sand-nins. Kakashi also borrowed one of Suna's hawks to inform the Hokage of what they knew. Only then, reports made and the Kages aware of the new developments, did they depart for Konoha once more.

When they reached the village, the Chunin at the gate sent them directly to Hokage Tower. The woman seemed to know something of what had happened, but refused to say anything more than that they were to report to the Hokage. When pressing her proved useless, Juubei took off for the tower along the roof-tops as fast as he could, followed by the others. He was tempted to ignore the order, and go directly to either the Dojo or the hospital, figuring the others would be there, but Kakashi took up a following position, instead of leading, and Juubei was not sure he could evade the Jounin from this close. They reached the tower, and were shown into the Hokage's office to find Tsunade leaning back in her chair, glaring at them over steepled fingers.

"It's about time you kids got back," she muttered, "We have a problem, a very serious problem, involving you."

When she was silent for a few seconds, Kakashi asked, "What happened, Hokage-sama? With Hinata?"

"Hyuuga Hinata, Mitarashi Mitsumi and Kodachi Raiden are currently in comas, in the hospital. They are completely non-responsive."

Juubei almost laughed. It was so typical of Raiden and Mitsumi, creating and using a brand new jutsu, then executing it so haphazardly they drained themselves completely and lost consciousness. It was almost funny, except for the length of the coma. "Yohko must be going crazy," he muttered, picturing her reaction to being unable to question the trio.

"We wouldn't know," Tsunade snapped back, "hence the problem."

All humor vanished, and Juubei whispered, "What?"

"Anko's team was attacked by two members of Akatsuki, as you were. Kisame and Testuo. Tetsuo managed to incapacitate and capture Yohko, then evade pursuit. Kisame delayed the rest long enough for him to make good his escape. We believe, based on his comments and your report, that Yohko remains alive, but we have no definitive information."

Juubei was halfway to the door before his brain caught up with his body. "Kuma, hit stores and get us some rations, Rumiko check on the others and restock your field kit, I'll get..."

Tsunade's voice cut him off, "Stop right there, boy!" When he turned to protest, she was glaring harshly at him, "Weren't you listening? Akatsuki kidnapped one of you, and tried to kidnap another! None of you are going anywhere, not even back to that shack you call a dojo. The only reason the other three are in the hospital, instead of the emergency tunnels in the cliff, is because the hospital is the only place capable of keeping them alive right now. You three, however, need no such special considerations, and those tunnels are the safest place for you. Limited access in or out, easily watched, easily controlled, easily defended. Thus, your new mission is to go in there and clean them out. With a guard to make sure you stay there."

Juubei glared right back at her, "All due respect, Hokage, one of our sisters is being held by..."

Tsunade's hand slammed down on her desk, "And you have no idea where, no idea how powerful or numerous they are, and no concept of how to obey orders!"

"We can track her," Kuma countered, holding up his seal, "through the reactions."

"Any chakra reaction can be dampened. I doubt her seal would react, and even if it did, you three are not going after her. I already have a team in mind for a retrieval mission, and Ibiki already has Kisame in hand, if not broken."

Juubei was about to argue more when Rumiko held out a hand. When she was sure he would not interrupt, she signed, At least let us try to locate her. We can do that within Konoha's walls, and give you a place to search for her. She is our sister, we have to do something, and denying us any chance to do so will only be detrimental.

Tsunade considered Rumiko for a moment, "I have your word, that if I allow you to try and locate her through the Seal, you will keep these idiots from doing something stupid?"

Rumiko nodded, You have my word. If you allow us to locate her through the Seal we will accept the mission and guard without further protest.

Tsunade continued to stare at her for a few more seconds, then nodded slowly. "Then they're your responsibility, Yamamato Rumiko."

"Excuse me, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said, "but did I hear correctly? Kisame has been _captured_?"

Tsunade snorted, whether in amusement or derision was debatable. "Yes, captured, by a Chunin and two Genin."

Kakashi whistled, "That is surprising. Anko did not fight him? Hinata managed to teleport all that way, and the three of them took on Kisame and won?"

They subsumed themselves in the link, Rumiko signed, total unity of thought, action and chakra. It may have damaged their minds, human minds are not supposed to be so closely merged.

"That is the working theory," Tsunade confirmed. "They beat Kisame to within an inch of his life, then Anko secured him in place and brought the three of them back. Kisame was still bound when the ANBU team arrived a few hours later, and he's been with Ibiki ever since. Hasn't said a word, other than to curse Tetsuo and 'that serpent'."

"Orochimaru," Kakashi whispered, "still alive, I almost did not believe it when Nori told us."

"I don't want to believe it," Tsunade agreed, "but there is little doubt, between your report, Kisame's statements, and certain other reports which make far more sense now. Which is all the more reason to keep the rest of you gaki here and secured. Your 'siblings' may have beaten Kisame, but he's old, overconfident, and tends to underestimate his opponents. The rest of Akatsuki won't be so easy."

"We never expected them to be," Juubei muttered, "but we have some surprises of our own left for them."

"Don't even think about it," Tsunade growled. "I told you, I already have a team selected for this mission."

"What team?"

"A good one, and who are you to question my selection of teams for any mission?"

Juubei shook his head, "Not questioning, Hokage, but if someone's going to rescue our sister, we want to be certain they know enough not to accidentally kill her in the process."

"They'll talk to you when they're ready to leave. You three go check in at the hospital, do whatever you can to locate Yohko without leaving the village, then get your lazy butts into the tunnels. You'll stay there until I'm certain this is over. Understood?" She had to glare at each of them, but eventually all three of them nodded their understanding, and she growled, "dismissed. Kakashi, make sure they stick together until they're in the tunnels."

------------------------------

Their next stop was the hospital, and would have been even without the Hokage's order. The staff was familiar enough with them by now that they barely had to show up at the reception desk to be told what rooms their siblings were in. The rooms were neighboring, in the long-term care ward, Hinata and Mitsumi in one, Raiden in another.

Juubei's first instinct was to check on his twin, so he followed Rumiko into the girls' room, while Kuma and Kakashi, wordlessly, went to check on Raiden. Unsurprisingly, Anko was perched in the open window, straddling the frame. She nodded to them as they entered, then waved at the two beds. "Glad you're finally here, 'Miko," she said, "it's getting boring waiting for these slackers to wake up."

Rumiko checked on Hinata first, leaving Mitsumi to Juubei, for which he was thankful – it gave him a chance to get control of his temper after seeing her. She was lying almost completely still, the only motion her chest rising and falling slowly with her breath. Someone had stretched her out straight, leaving her arms over the sheet to allow for an IV drip, and wires from a monitoring unit trailed under the sheets. The rigidity of her posture told him more than the monitors – Mitsumi was never still, even in sleep, and Juubei could feel his temper rising just seeing her like that.

Still, there was nothing he could do at the moment, and his anger was best saved for later. He brought it back under control, touching her hand gently to reassure himself that she was in fact still alive, then stepped back to give Rumiko room and joined Anko at the window. For a few moments, the two of them simply watched Rumiko move back and forth between the comatose patients.

"You heard, I guess," Anko said finally.

"Yes," Juubei replied, "and we've been ordered to 'leave it to the adults'." He did not even try to keep the bitterness and anger out of his voice.

Anko gave him a considering look, "Ever think maybe she's right? You kids are Orochimaru's latest entertainment. He'll have a rather elaborate trap set for you, and tougher fighters than Kisame."

Juubei nodded, "Yeah, he probably will. But he has to go down, permanently. He's a threat to Konoha otherwise, and the faster we get rid of him, the more likely we are to get Yohko back."

"I was beginning to wonder when you'd get to her." Juubei looked over at her, to find her studying him. She waved vaguely at Hinata and Mitsumi, "Those three never asked Kisame about Yohko, about where she was being taken or what was going to be done to her. Not a word. They only asked about Orochimaru, and where he was."

"She will be where he is," Juubei said, "so that he can study her Seal. And Raiden... Raiden is totally focused on fulfilling the oath, whatever the cost. If we go after her, and he's in the lead, we won't be going to rescue her, we'll be going to kill Orochimaru and destroy Akatsuki."

"What if you lead?"

"I won't be," Juubei shook his head, looking at Mitsumi again, "Raiden or Hinata will be."

"Why those two? Way Raiden talks, you're his second."

"No," Juubei grinned sourly, "I've never thought of anyone as Raiden's 'second'. We've never had a real rank structure, it's just been all of us following him. Actually, before Hinata-sensei joined us, Yohko would probably have been the one to take over, whatever anyone else thinks. I much prefer being a follower, being the one to execute a tough decision, rather than make it. Now..." he paused, trying to figure out how to explain how the Guardians viewed each other and their world, "... put it to you this way – we followed Raiden through Hell. Placing and releasing the Seal was terrifying, for each of us, but we followed Raiden to do it. If Hinata-sensei asked, we'd do it again."

"Raiden is the Guardians' will," Kuma said from the doorway, Kakashi just visible over his shoulder, "Hinata is our soul, Mitsumi our heart."

Juubei snorted, "Poet wanna-be."

Kuma actually cracked a smile at that, "But I'm right."

Juubei waved it aside, "Suppose it's impossible to be wrong all the time."

I can't wake them, Rumiko interrupted. When she had everyone's attention, she continued, this is not medical, it is something to do with their combined Seal. Yohko could...

"… but we need _them_ in order to go and get _her_," Juubei finished when she trailed off.

"Not to find her, though," Kuma offered, "what say we go do that?"

"Do what?" The sharp demand focused everyone's attention on the door again, where Hanabi was standing, hands on her hips, "Get out of my sister's hospital room? Feel free!"

Juubei grinned, feeling that tingle of inspiration, "Actually, Hanabi, we're going to go locate _our_ sister. Who's retrieval will help get her," he jerked a thumb at Hinata's comatose form, "up and about again. Care to lend a hand?"

Hanabi glared at him past Kakashi, pale pupilless eyes narrowed in suspicion, "Help with what?"

"We need to do some triangulation, but we're going to have to use a jutsu to generate the direction lines. That'll make recording the bearings difficult, unless we all go to the same reference point at the same time. Thing's'll go a lot quicker if we have some help."

"You want me to leave my sister here while I run around with you?"

"Pretty much," Anko said, "on the other hand, Hina-chan's not going to wake up anytime soon, so you won't be missing much. Better to do something to hasten her wakening, ne?"

Hinata debated it for all of thirty seconds, then nodded sharply. "Mori and Jiro are out front, we're supposed to train but it can wait."

Anko swung her leg inside, over the windowsill, "You three'll be splitting up then? I'll go with Rumiko, just to see what you're doing. Kakashi?"

"Mah, I'll go with Kuma, to the south wall. Rumiko, take the northern wall. Juubei, you and Hanabi go out to the eastern wall. Take your readings, we'll meet back here. Someone remember to get a map."

------------------------------

The eastern wall was, in many respects, the most boring. It was just a towering height of concrete, broken up by evenly spaced guard towers. The village's main gate was a little south of the western-most point, but even that was hidden by its flanking towers. The Genin on duty at the top of the wall was surprised to see them, but respected their silence.

When they reached the top of the wall, and began setting out paper and pen to record the bearings, Hanabi asked, "So, how are we going to do this?"

Juubei shrugged, "Trigger the summoning built into our seals, one at a time. For a few moments, we'll be able to sense the direction to the other Guardians. Not as clearly as they'll be able to sense whoever triggers the Seal, but clearly enough to get a general bearing. Three'll be towards the hospital, one towards the southern wall, one towards the northern wall, and Yohko's will be somewhere else. Once all three of us have our bearing sets, we'll get a map and match everything up. Three of the bearings should point to someplace well outside Konoha, which'll be where Yohko is."

Hanabi considered that for a minute, then looked over Konoha, scanning along the walls. "Not much of a baseline for triangulation. The further away she is, the larger the resultant search area."

"Yeah," Juubei agreed, "but it's the best we can do, and it'll give the Hokage someplace to start looking."

"What if she's moved afterwards? No kidnapper's going to sit in one place long, not with shinobi after him."

Juubei shrugged, "We repeat, until we've caught up. When Mitsumi wakes up, with her shunpo we'll be able to catch up to anyone. Then it's just a matter of getting Yohko free, and taking down whoever has her."

"Just like that, huh?"

Juubei grinned back at her sarcasm, "There are tricks to the Seal we have yet to show anyone. If the target's who we think it is, he's bad enough we'll pull out all the stops – rules of engagement omega."

Hanabi looked at him strangely, obviously debating the relish with which he had finished that statement. "What are 'rules of engagement omega'?"

"We limit how far we're allowed to go in a given situation. We used to have four, Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Omega. Gamma was lockdown, no use of the Seal, minimal use of chakra. Beta, we could do anything a normal academy student or Genin could be expected to do. Those two are pretty much done, we've been on Alpha since we told the Hokage about our Seal. Alpha's complicated. We can use most of the Seal's abilities, but we're still supposed to limit how far we push. Technically speaking, Mitsumi and Yohko both broke ROE during the Chunin Exam's final round, but that's a grey area."

"And Omega removes all the limits," Hanabi concluded, "allows you to do anything you think you can."

Juubei shook his hand reflexively as it started to burn, looking north to where he could now sense Kuma, then nodded to Hanabi, "Up to and beyond our own physical limits. It's entirely possible, under ROE Omega, for us to burn ourselves out completely, go out in a blaze of glory. But with no limits... we don't really know what the effects of some of the final aspects of the Seal will do, since we've never tried to use them."

"And you're going to do this willingly?"

"If it gets our target, yes." Juubei shrugged, then glanced at his hand. The Seal was fading now. "We've always known our oath would get us killed. But in all honesty, I don't think this guy will require it, not if Hinata, Raiden and Mitsumi can pull of another triad like they apparently did against Kisame. Get ready, I'm going to trigger my seal."

He bit his thumb, and drew a circle over his Seal with his own blood. As the burning sensation spread up his arm, and he began searching for his siblings, he vaguely heard Hanabi mutter beside him, "glad I'm not one of you after all. Bloody lunatics."

"First bearing," he replied.

------------------------------

It took three tries to get all the bearings noted, the sensations faded so quickly, but an hour after leaving the hospital, the Guardians gathered once more in Mitsumi and Hinata's room. To Juubei's surprise, Raiden was there to meet them, leaning on the rail at the foot of Mitsumi's bed, and both the girls were awake and aware.

Raiden's wave of greeting was odd, showing the back of his hand, "Hey, Juubei, thanks for the wake-up call."

Juubei looked at him curiously as Hanabi moved to her sister's side, then at Hinata and Mitsumi each in turn, then back to Raiden. "Should you be moving about, Raiden?"

"No," Mitsumi and Hinata both replied, before Mitsumi continued, "But he won't go away either."

Raiden shook his head, "don't have time to lie about. We have to track down Orochimaru."

"Tche, like you'll do any better against him than against his puppets," Hanabi muttered.

"We'll do better, well enough," Raiden countered, then turned back to Juubei, "What's your team's status? We need to get under way as soon as possible, and it's going to take the three of us a day or so to get ourselves back together. And what was with all the summons?"

Juubei shook his head slowly in disbelief. Unconscious for three days, and still Raiden was expecting to leave immediately. _Boy's got to try taking it easy one of these days, _he thought before answering. "My team's ready to go, just as soon as we re-supply at the Dojo, but we've got a mission."

"Getting Orochimaru," Raiden nodded, "We..."

Juubei cut him off by shaking his head, "No, the Hokage's forbidden us from doing that. Actually, she's ordered all of us on the same mission – cleaning out the emergency tunnels, under guard. Hope you weren't looking forward to seeing the sun for a few days."

While Raiden just gave him a jaundiced look, Mitsumi broke out laughing. A moment later, Raiden reached back and swatted her foot. "What were her specific orders?"

"You're not getting out of this mission, gaki," Anko said coming in ahead of Rumiko, who immediately went to check Raiden, and Jiro. "Orochimaru's a snake of a whole 'nother skin than what you've been playing with. With him in charge of Akatsuki, you're out of your league."

"We've beaten one Akatsuki, we'll beat the rest," Raiden growled.

"You beat an old Shinobi who was already injured and lacking his best weapon," Anko countered, "and you lost to Tetsuo. Badly."

Raiden hissed in a breath, then visibly calmed with shocking speed. "They lost to Tetsuo because I was not there," Hinata said, "a mistake which we will not repeat. Orochimaru will be difficult, but I believe the three of us could defeat him."

Anko shook her head, "You kids think you remember him, but you have no idea what he's capable of now. He is one of the best shinobi our village has ever produced, has decades of experience more than Kisami, but you can rest assured he has a body in prime condition. He will figure out the Seal, what it allows you to do, and what its weaknesses are, I guarantee it, even faster now that he has Yohko."

Raiden shook his head, "He can't figure out all of it. Even the Fourth did not understand all of it, unless we completely mis-translated the journal."

"Yohko knows everything you know, ne?"

"And then some," Raiden agreed, "but she won't tell Orochimaru any of it."

Anko glared at him for a minute, then strode over and smacked him upside the head. "Fool. Orochimaru can break anyone. Accept that, accept that Yohko will tell him everything, and you might be able to help plan her rescue."

Raiden flinched away from the blow, but matched her stare again a moment later. "We are not going to rescue Yohko," he said, "and however he breaks her, Yohko will tell him nothing. The oath we took to protect Konoha will require her to keep it secret, and the oath will hold her. I am as certain of that as I am of the sun rising."

"Then you're an idiot as well as a fool. Whatever he has become, he knows precisely how to break a person." Anko shook her head, and abandoned the argument, "Kami-sama I wish you weren't so damn stubborn. You'll admit it when you see her, but you're not going to see her until the rescue team brings her back. You're going to be in the tunnels, cleaning. And I, for my sins, will be stuck there with you."

Hinata changed the subject by asking, "Who's on the rescue team?"

Anko looked at her, then back at Raiden, obviously debating telling them, and Juubei grinned. He could tell that, whoever wound up on the team, Raiden was not going to accept it, and that would make briefing the team all the more interesting. Considering the probable scene, he thought, _Hope whoever it is has patience, and doesn't pay too much attention to our counter-questions._

Finally, Anko settled back against the now-closed window, "Shikamaru is leading this mission. The only other shinobi I've heard he's taking is Naruto. Two other members are planned, but I don't know who yet. Shikamaru'll be by the tunnels tonight to question you lot, I'd suggest we get to work on that map. But, while we wait for Kuma and Kakashi, how about you three explain to me just what happened when you went after Kisame?"

------------------------------

They were allowed to stop by the Dojo, long enough to gather some changes of clothes. There was a brief debate as to whether or not they would be permitted their weapons, but eventually the two Jounin agreed to allow them some. If someone did attack them in the tunnels, they would need their weapons even if there was a guard with them. The one thing they were not allowed to pack was field rations.

"We'll be in the cliffs," Anko said, on catching Mitsumi sneaking some into her pack, "Konoha'll be a whistle away, and I'm sure the Hokage will be more than willing to have some Genin bring us some food once in a while. No rations for you gaki."

They left for the tunnels as evening was settling in. The six youngsters led, while Anko and Kakashi brought up the rear, their own gear comfortably arrayed on their backs. Since their teams were going to be stuck down there, Anko felt it only fair to stay herself, and she doubted that one of them would be enough to ride herd on all six Guardians, given their current determination to go after Orochimaru.

"So," she whispered to her right after a short while of silence, "how long do you think before they try to slip away on us?"

Kakashi shrugged, "mah, who knows? Kids these days, they're so unpredictable."

Anko chuckled but elbowed him lightly in the ribs anyway, "Come on, Kakashi. You have to have some idea. I'm betting it's tonight, couple hours before dawn."

Kakashi shook his head, "Anko... you should have more faith in your students. Before midnight."

"You want to bring them back first, or do you want me to?"

Kakashi's head swiveled around, lone eye coming into view, crinkled in a smile, "Who says we're going to stop them?"

She blinked, then grinned back at him, "What've you got in mind, you decrepit pervert?"

"That search area they came up with is fairly large," Kakashi mused, "very large. Shikamaru was quite vocal on that. Thinks it will take him several days to search it."

"And a lot closer to Konoha than any of us would like," Anko added.

"Mah, you had to expect that, from how quick they managed to ambush us after the exam. But I'm thinking about how big the area is. Lot of small valleys up there, lot of places to hide, from, say, a Konoha search party."

"You're thinking if we go, we'll double the searchers?" Anko shook her head, "Good idea, but not with these kids. Maybe if we took your last team, but the gaki... remember, Kakashi, these kids are Akatsuki's _target_, and good as they are, they're not good enough to account for the fact that the people they're going to be hunting will be hunting them right back."

"Hmm, maybe. But you and I _are_, ne?"

Anko realized what he was saying almost immediately and for just a moment the sheer audacity of it stunned her. "You're going to let them go as bait," she said in an even softer whisper, almost inaudible, "let them think they escaped us, then track them, and use them to have Akatsuki lead us right to Orochimaru, aren't you?"

"Mah, it's a thought," Kakashi replied, returning to studying the ground ahead of his feet, "Something to think about while we wait for midnight, ne?"

"Should we get anyone else involved? We could use some extra numbers."

"Hokage didn't like this plan, not one bit. Said it was reckless, foolhardy, dangerous, and not at all the way a teacher should be thinking of his students."

"She said no."

"She said 'no one else', Anko. 'No one _else_.'"

"Tche, that woman's getting more dangerous every year," Anko muttered. "Do we tell the gaki?"

Kakashi shook his head, "Why worry them?"

------------------------------

Shortly after midnight, several miles northwest of Konoha, a small boulder rolled sideways. Dirt and pebbles rained down, temporarily obscuring meter-wide tunnel the boulder had covered, and drawing a muffled curse from within. When the miniature landslide subsided, a giant of a man hauled himself out of the tunnel, barely fitting through the narrow opening. He crouched there, one hand on the boulder, the other held out behind him in a 'hold' gesture, scanning the surroundings.

Kuma quickly determined that the tunnel led precisely where Hinata had said it would. He was standing on a wide ledge in the side of a very small canyon, the lip not four meters above him and the floor four more below, with maybe two meters to the far side. With no moon overhead and only the light of the stars, seeing any distance was difficult, but he could still sense well enough to detect any watchers. There was no one in the canyon, no eyes watched from the ridges overhead, so after a minute, he straightened from his crouch and waved the others forward.

Mitsumi slid out first, ghosting into invisibility almost instantly. He could still hear her, kicking pebbles loose as she climbed the canyon face they had just come out of, but other than that there was no trace. Raiden followed, then Hinata, Juubei and Rumiko, spreading out to cover the ledge and keep watch.

"Juubei," Raiden whispered, just loud enough for all of them to hear, "Where's the nearest cache?"

"Should be a kilometer west, finger of rock next to a dead pine under an overhang."

"Good direction, we need to go west and cross the first line of peaks to get to the search area. Lead off, close point. Kuma, bring up the rear."

"Should I close this?" Kuma shifted the boulder slightly, to indicate what.

"Yes," Raiden replied, "we don't want to leave a hidden route into Konoha open carelessly behind us."

"No," Hinata countered, staring into the darkness, "Leave it." She paused for a second, then explained, "better Kakashi and Anko know how we left. Proof of what we're after, in a round-about way."

Kuma waited for the counter from Raiden, but he just nodded, and started scaling the canyon face after Juubei. After a moment Kuma shrugged, and gave in to the pitiable look Rumiko gave him. Boosting her to the cliff edge was no trouble, and jumping the distance himself was almost as easy. Once there, he checked the tunnel entrance once more, then the canyon, before moving off to follow the others, comfortable no one was following them.

A single figure walked out of the tunnel five minutes later, moving at an easy stroll. Wrapped in a long hooded cloak, it was indistinct in the darkness. The figure paused on the ledge, scanning the ground carefully, then the canyon face, and finally the boulder. Pushing on it experimentally, the figure found it was rather heavier than it looked, and had to dig its feet into the ground to move the stone weight back in place over the tunnel entrance. That done, it leapt lightly atop the boulder, and then to the edge of the canyon.

Looking west, the figure was still for a time, then chuckled. "Thanks for leaving the door open, Hinata-chan, but it wasn't really necessary. Looks like things are finally getting interesting, though. It'll be good to see the Master again, see if he's changed, grown, or just stagnated. I wonder if he'll remember me?"


	28. 27 Hunters & Snakes

**Rise of the Guardians**

By Daishi Prime

- 27 – Hunters & Snakes -

Juubei found the cache precisely where he had expected, buried in a pit at the base of the rock column that held up a flat boulder above it. The cache had been in place for years, by this point, but what it contained would take far longer than that to wear away, especially sealed in metal cases and buried six feet down. Dry trail-rations, water purification tablets, field medical kits, and weapons enough for each of them to fill out their favored compliment.

Once the cache was emptied, they replaced the containers in the hole and refilled it, carefully concealing the evidence of their digging and presence before moving on. Once this was over, whether they returned to Konoha or not, the cache could be reused, so long as it remained secret. Then they continued west, angling slightly north, heading for one of the long chain of valleys through the mountains.

They had not been able to modify or conceal the search area Juubei's triangulation generated from Shikamaru. What they did have, however, was the ability to refine that search area 'on the fly' by triggering the Seal again. Raiden was leery of using that too often, as the visible reaction of Yohko's Seal would give away the search, but as a compromise decided to use the summons once each day, at dawn. After that, they would travel north and west through the valleys, aiming always for the center of the search area they had shown Shikamaru.

In the interests of avoiding detection by Shikamaru's team, and avoiding any pursuit from Konoha, they traveled slowly, working to hide the signs of their passage, rather than cover ground. Early on the first day, they crossed the trail Shikamaru's team left, veering off their planned course to ensure they avoided the other Konoha team completely. At that rate, and with that level of caution, it was two more days before they reached the search area, but thanks to the two checks, they had refined that area to a single valley.

The valley itself was small, long and wide, but cut off by the steep-sloped mountains which formed it. The lowest pass visible, a mile and more to the north, was above the tree line. At the southern end, crouched on a ledge above another pass, the six Guardians studied their objective in evening's dimming light, searching for any sign of habitation, any sign of where Yohko was being held, and where their target hid.

"There," Juubei said after a while, pointing at the western peak, "there's a ledge a ways up, small building on it. It's grey as the rock, hard to make out, but it's there."

Raiden gave off studying the eastern side of the valley and turned his attention to where Juubei was pointing. It took him some time to resolve the small structure against the stone and shadows, but finally he found it, and nodded. "Looks promising. See any sign of a trail up there?"

"Yeah, two of them. One leads south, and over the mountain's shoulder, I think. The other goes north, descends into the valley."

"Probably trapped," Mitsumi commented.

"Probably," Raiden agreed. "Kuma, how's the mountainside?"

Kuma had been crouched so low he was almost lying down, bare hands spread wide on the rock beneath him. Even without Mitsumi's vision jutsu, Raiden knew there were tendrils of his brother's chakra extended into the mountain reaching through the surrounding rocks to scout and explore. After a few seconds, Kuma answered him, "Looks good. There's some kind of cave system over there, must be big for me to pick it up from this distance, but I can't tell anything more than that from here, have to get closer. Underlying rock is stable though, no danger of the mountains sliding out from under us. Possible landslide risk from higher up, where the rocks have been weathered longer, but again, it's too far for me to tell."

"Good enough," Raiden said, "we'll head through the valley, more cover and it won't cost us much time. Keep your senses open, and watch for traps more than ambush. We'll stop at the bottom of the cliff, have Kuma try another read of the caves, and look for a..." he trailed off, turning to look back the way they had come, and a moment later Hinata came jogging easily around the corner of the pass, a hundred meters or so distant. Reaching for her mentally was easier now than it had been, and he brought Mitsumi into the communication without even thinking about it, _Anything?_

She did not slow her pace, but he could see her shaking her head, _Shikamaru's team just entered the next valley east of us. Him, Naruto, Chouji and someone I do not recognize. They're close, but unless something happens to attract their attention, they won't come through here until after sundown. Someone else is due south of us, however. I think it's Anko and Kakashi, when I checked for chakra signatures I think I saw her curse seal._

_Could be Uchiha-teme,_ Mitsumi offered, _He has that curse seal as well, and it's more obvious, 'specially if he's using it._

Hinata reached their position by that point, dropping into a crouch next to Kuma, "I do not believe it to be Sasuke following us. Whoever it is, they are being cautious and watchful. Sasuke fears no living thing, except possibly Orochimaru. He would be both closer to us, and less aware of Shikamaru's team passing east of us. Anko, though... she would be well aware, and careful to coordinate her movements with his, even if he doesn't know she's doing it, to cover a wider area simultaneously."

"And if Anko's here," Raiden continued, "Kakashi is. Which means they'll be better able to track us than Shikamaru would, or the Uchiha."

"Pa-kun's good," Juubei said, nodding slowly, "and he's familiar with all three of us on Team Eight by now. We might've been able to loose someone else, but not Kakashi and Pa-kun."

"Doesn't matter," Raiden said after a moment, "we're here, they're too far behind us and moving too cautiously to interfere. Let's think of them as reinforcements and get moving. Mitsumi, lead off. Hinata, rear guard again, please."

The six of them strung out down the pass, moving from cover to cover, wary for traps and ambushes, though they mostly relied on Mitsumi to spot trouble. Raiden took second from last, when Hinata gestured slightly. Once they were under way, she asked, _what is wrong, Raiden? Something has been bothering you since we set out from the cache._

Raiden was silent for a time, tempted to either ignore her, or deny it. But this close, with the link as sensitized as it had been since fighting Kisame, he knew she would know he was dissembling, probably before he even tried. So eventually, he simply told her, _This is not going to be like fighting Kisame. If we manage to merge into the link again, we should be able to defeat Orochimaru, but..._ He let the thought trail off, trying harder to hide his sense of foreboding.

She finished it for him, anyhow, _you think one of us is not going to come back._

_Something like that,_ he confirmed, _not necessarily one of the three of us, but I do not believe the Guardians will be seven when we finish this mission. Unfortunately, I also do not see a way around this. We must kill him before he learns enough of the Seal to adapt it, but doing so..._

_We could wait for the others, Shikamaru's team, Anko and Kakashi,_ she offered,_ since we have found the base, and are already here, they would almost have to let us go the rest of the way. With their assistance, the risk would be much less._

Raiden shook his head, _I would like to do that, you're right. If we go in with them, our chance would be much greater. But do you really want them around if we have to go all the way? And do you really think that, short of being in Orochimaru's presence, Kakashi and Anko would let us fight him? No, we have to do this, as quickly as we can, and that speed is going to get one or more of us killed. Probably Juubei or Kuma. They'll be in the thick of any fighting, but lack the advantages the link provides us._

_We can only do our best, Raiden,_ Hinata told him,_ whatever, wherever we are, we can only do our best to fulfill our oath. Despite the Seal, we remain only human, and all humans must die. Better to die doing something great and noble, than for a nobleman's coin, ne? If it happens, it will happen, and we will mourn, but as you said, this must be done. And I think our chances are better than you give us credit for. _ He could feel her smiling, knew she was trying to cheer him up, but that knowledge did not make the attempt any less effective. _Besides,_ she continued a moment later, _Juubei's team is quite a bit better than you remember, and no one can stand against six Guardians, let alone seven if we find Yohko before Orochimaru._

_I hope you're right, Hinata, but this is still far more dangerous than anything we have ever attempted._

------------------------------

The cloaked figure waited until the six Guardians were all lost amongst the trees before leaping down from where he had watched, perched on a ledge just wide enough for him to lay sideways on without using his chakra, just high enough above the pass that the angle hid his presence. With his trained hearing, it had been plenty close enough to listen to every word the children below had uttered. He paused, examining the ground where they had scanned the valley, then turned his attention to the small structure just visible across the valley.

"So, the Master decided to hide in the lion's back yard, did he?" The figure chuckled, then turned and pressed a finger into a boulder. A small amount of chakra infused the digit, and he began writing, a rough calligraphy that none the less carried his meaning.

_Kakashi-kun, Anko-chan, your delinquents went to the building on the western mountain. Do fetch them before they hurt themselves._

He chuckled again, then bit his thumb, and slammed the open palm down on the ground, growling, "Kuchiyose no jutsu." A moment later, as the small puff of smoke dissipated in the gentle mountain wind, a large snake became visible, coiled up and glaring at the man. The snake hissed at him, tongue flickering, but he swatted it on its broad snout, causing it to flinch back. "Go east and south, into the next valley, find four shinobi that smell of the forest. Bring them here, then you can leave." The snake hissed again, then slithered back through the pass, moving with surprising rapidity for the altitude and terrain.

Before the serpent was out of sight, he had turned and begun strolling down the pass into the forest. He was still chuckling softly, twirling a kunai through the fingers of his right hand, causing the yellow face of the ring he wore to glint every so often.

------------------------------

Raiden was unsurprised to find, as they traveled, that the forest proved to be both trapped and guarded. The traps themselves were something of a surprise, mostly because they were so simple to 'avoid'. Trios of seals, placed on trees facing one another, no more than ten meters apart, would react to any chakra signature entering the triangle they described. They never did learn what the reaction was supposed to be, as when Mitsumi passed through the first triangular area, all three seals burned out spectacularly, but with no apparent effect other than self-immolation. Without Yohko to tell them more about the seals themselves, the best any of them could surmise was that the chakra-aura which surrounded all the Guardians overwhelmed the traps without triggering them.

The guards proved to be a more complicated challenge. While none were shinobi, there were a ridiculous number of snakes living in the valley, far more than should naturally occur there. The first any of them realized it was when a boa slid out of a tree onto Rumiko's shoulder, and only the fact that her reactions were already on edge kept it from getting a hold of her. Most of them shrugged it off, and just started keeping an eye out for long slithering things. Raiden very nearly called the whole thing off then and there, before Hinata calmed him down, but after that, he took to traveling with kunai in both hands, and a wary gaze out in _every _direction.

The problem with the snakes was, killing one seemed to attract more, and some of them proved frighteningly intelligent. Several of them used each other to climb the trees and reach the interlopers, and others, on spotting the Guardians, turned directly for the building the shinobi were aiming for. That in turn necessitated some fast moves to kill the 'informers', which brought on more snakes, which cycle seemed to continue endlessly. They had no doubt, by the time they reached the cliff over a hundred meters below their target building, that whoever might be waiting up there was perfectly well aware of their presence. The fact that the floor of the forest was crawling with hissing cold-blooded serpents would have made it blindingly obvious.

"I can't believe no one's attacked us," Juubei commented, staring up the cliff from the tree-branch he was on. Kuma was the only one of them on the ground, standing inside an arc of fire Mitsumi had created to keep the snakes off while he studied the caves. The rest of them were perched in surrounding trees, having cleaned them out of snakes while they waited.

"Probably either waiting inside, or not enough to send out parties against us," Raiden replied, glaring at the forest behind them. He kept asking himself, _Why did it have to be snakes?_

_At least it argues in favor of this being Orochimaru's lair,_ Hinata replied.

_And it's fun to watch you freak,_ Mitsumi added.

"It's still bad tactics," Juubei continued his original complaint, "letting us get this close. Do you realize how much more difficult this could've been, just getting this close?"

Mitsumi snorted derisively, "defenses like you're thinking would have made the entire hideout more obvious. He'd've had 'guests' dropping by every couple of days, followed by teams, followed by every ANBU squad in the village. Orochimaru's a snake, Juubei, and he thinks like one. Unnoticed, quite and patient, strike once and fade away to wait for the poison to do its work. Hell, he's probably already left this hideout, left someone else in charge of Yohko, or found some way to fool the Seal."

"He couldn't learn how to fool it this fast, not without a living example to study," Raiden countered. "He's probably still here, waiting to try and trap the rest of us along with Yohko. He'll move after this battle is over, if he survives. Any Akatsuki members will be inside, waiting to ambush us, pick us off one at a time."

"So keep together," Hinata continued, "don't get separated and don't get lost. We're here for Orochimaru first, Yohko second, and then we're gone."

"Raiden," Kuma rumbled, "good news and bad."

"Let's hear it," Mitsumi answered.

"Cavern opens in that building, long spiral passage down to a little higher than we are now, then the caves really start. Not natural, man-made."

Raiden nodded, "So someone dug the place out, and Orochimaru moved in once the hard part was done? Sounds like him."

"Original cave opened about twenty meters that way," Kuma pointed to his left, "blocked by earth jutsus. The entrance passage is trapped, least three deadfalls waiting, and some weird jutsus as well, I can't read 'em."

"Can you reopen the original passage?"

Kuma shook his head, "nope, not quick, but..." he looked back and grinned, tapping the rock wall in front of him, "side cave is three meters that way. I can reach it easy enough, one shot should do it. Gonna be real obvious, though."

Raiden grinned back, "Obvious is fine, Kuma. Obvious is just fine."

Kuma nodded, shifting back from the granite face, drawing one fist back to his shoulder. The explosion of stone and dust when his Fist of the Earth Dragon struck the cliff was tremendous, a thundering detonation that briefly covered all of them in a cloud of dust and debris, setting the trees they were in to swaying and extinguishing the circle of flame Mitsumi had been maintaining.

When the dust cleared enough for them to see, there was a roughly circular hole in the cliff face, jagged and narrowing as it went deeper, until the stone ended in a patch of darkness. "You need to work on your math, Kuma," Juubei muttered, "that's more like five meters than three."

Kuma shrugged, "three, six... it's just rock, what's the difference?"

"Shikamaru's team will have heard that," Raiden told them, "let's get inside and get the serpent before they interfere."

------------------------------

Shikamaru studied the snake coiled in the middle of the clearing carefully, contemplating it. Finding a snake around here was a little odd, but not unheard of, even one this large. Finding it waiting in the middle of a clearing, awake but unmoving, was distinctly odd. Shikamaru was content to study and contemplate the problem for a while, as no immediate threat presented itself, but his compatriots were not.

"Oi, Shikamaru," Naruto hissed, "It's just a snake. If you're scared of it, let's just swing east and go around it."

Shikamaru sighed, then explained, "I'm not afraid of it, Naruto. I'm trying to decide what to do about it."

"Big snake, not native to these parts," Jiraiya commented, "probably a scout for Orochimaru."

Shikamaru nodded, but did not rise from his crouched position. "Maybe. Could be from someone else, though."

One white eyebrow rose, "Oho, who else around here is a snake summoner?"

"Sasuke, Anko, couple others I've heard of," Shikamaru said, "though only the first two would be out and about around here."

"Sasuke's not permitted to leave Konoha," Jiraiya reminded him. "You really think he'd break the Godaime's trust by coming out here?"

"In a heart-beat, if it got him closer to Orochimaru."

"Hey, Sasuke's not a traitor!"

Shikamaru twitched, then hung his head with a sigh. Naruto's outburst had been, predictably, loud. The snake in the clearing twitched as well, then started slithering towards them. "Good going, dobe," Shikamaru muttered, "Now it knows we're here, and it's probably going to go tell whoever the hell summoned it."

"How about we wait and see what it wants," Jiraiya offered, "snakes that big aren't usually very fast."

The serpent in question slithered over the forest floor, until it was in ther vicinity, then began looking around, searching for the now hidden shinobi. After a minute, it stated, "Ssshinobi who sssmell of the leaf. Have messsssage from sssumoner. Valley wessst, passss to sssouth, messssage there." Then the snake vanished, disappearing in a puff of smoke that quickly dissipated to reveal an empty forest floor.

"Well, here's a fun conundrum," Jiraiya commented, staring at the now vacant spot on the ground. "Go where he said and run into a trap, or continue our search and..." Before he could finish the statement, he was cut of by a distant rumbling, like distant thunder muffled by intervening mountains. It was still loud enough, and clear enough, to get all four shinobi facing northwest.

"Looks like we step into the trap," Shikamaru muttered. "Same marching order, Naruto, try not to get us lost this time."

Jiraiya asked, "And if it is a trap?"

Shikamaru shrugged as he leapt to follow Naruto, "traps only work when you don't know they're there. Better we trip it than those idiot kids."

"You're certain they're out here? We haven't detected any signs of their presence."

Shikamaru nodded, "They're out here. Don't know where, but those kids are stubborn, willful, and ridiculously overconfident. Hinata's almost as bad, these days. They're out here, somewhere, and I'm glad of it. Akatsuki will focus on them, and probably not notice us until we're ready to _make_ them notice us."

------------------------------

Mitsumi led the way of course, but for a change it was Kuma following first behind her. Even more strange, from her perspective, was the fact that instead of being well out in front, she was not two meters from Kuma, and the team was relying on him even more than on her. Her vision jutsu allowed her to see live threats, but they already had ample evidence that there were traps everywhere, and very few of those radiated a chakra signature she could sense.

The first trap had been a surprise, right in the door of the room Kuma's strike opened up for them. When Mitsumi opened the door, a vertical blade mounted in grooves in floor and ceiling had swept across the entrance, driven by powerful springs from the sound. It had been fast enough to catch her hand, and sharp enough she had not noticed it cut through her leather gloves and take off a patch of skin on her finger-tip, until she felt the wetness of blood when she pressed the hand against the door. After that, Kuma was right behind her stretching his chakra through the surrounding rock to find the traps Mitsumi could not.

The fact that she could not see most of the traps, and the closeness with which the others followed her, were not what was bothering Mitsumi, however. Despite living in darkness for years, despite not being able to actually see the walls about her, despite being able to hear and feel her way just as well as always, this place was making her feel claustrophobic. She could feel the weight of rock overhead, bearing down on her like she was holding it all up herself. Even worse, she could feel the weight of power, pain and evil that suffused these rocks, the legacy of the Serpents long tenure, pressing in at her soul and mind, trying to defeat her before she even faced their source. She had no idea how the others could stand to do this with no light but the meager lanterns Hinata's eyes showed her were scattered about by the cave's inhabitants.

_Courage, Mitsumi,_ Hinata whispered in her mind, words matched with a soothing calmness, _we all feel it. It is never easy to face our nightmares, but this is why we became what we are._

Mitsumi sighed mentally, careful to keep it in the privacy of her own mind. _I'm fine,_ she replied, _just don't like being underground, is all. Makes it too easy for some fumble-brained twit to figure out where I'm hiding._

_Nonetheless,_ Mitsumi could hear Hinata's suppressed amusement, but ignored it, _relax, onee-chan. We are the hunters here, faced with other hunters. A challenge of skill and will, and we have always demonstrated both, ne?_

_Hai, hai,_ Mitsumi answered, _and we will again. Now stop distracting me, I might trip on Kuma._

"Trap," Kuma rumbled just then, causing her to freeze in place. "Meter forward, rank of blow-guns, looks like."

"I'll keep watch," Mitsumi replied, "you disarm it." She leapt up, catching herself at the apex of the tunnel ceiling and holding herself there by friction. It got her out of his way, and mitigated the blinding effect of his chakra on her jutsu, even if it was difficult to maintain when none of the surfaces she was touching were flat-on to her.

Finding the triggers for the trap took Kuma longer than usual, but find it he did. An air-pressure sensor built into the tubes detected the passage of anyone moving more than the painfully slow speed of a few centimeters a minute, and filled the hall with poison-tipped darts. Since there was no apparent way for the trap to reset itself, Kuma disabled it by the simple expedient of setting it off from behind one of Raiden's barriers. A pressure wave through the rock walls of the tunnel had the same effect as someone walking past, and the trap triggered with a hail of darts, sounding like a handful of sand falling, they were so numerous and fired so fast.

"This is getting ridiculous," Mitsumi muttered, "how the hell does he get anywhere in here?"

"He doesn't," Juubei opined, "just sits somewhere and sends flunkies for whatever he wants. How he keeps himself entertained, seeing which ones get caught in a trap and which don't."

Raiden dropped a hand on Juubei's shoulder and hissed, "Quiet. We're obvious enough without shouting. Mitsumi, move out, we need to find him fast."

Mitsumi snorted, and tried to land on him, but he twisted out of the way and shoved her gently towards the hall. Once again, Kuma took up position close behind her, and they forged deeper into the serpent's lair.

------------------------------

The message the snake had mentioned was quite obvious, scrawled in large kanji figures across the side of a boulder. Even from the ledge high above, it was readily legible. "Doesn't sound like Orochimaru," Naruto murmured, "not quite. Reminds me of someone else, but I can't remember who."

"Yeah," Shikamaru muttered, "but who? I thought it was Sasuke, when the snake appeared, but he'd never leave that message. Someone else, or is Sasuke or Orochimaru playing with us?"

"That's not Sasuke's style," Naruto muttered, "he'd just hit us until we went along. Orochimaru's playing games, then."

"There's a building right where the message says," Jiraiya said, "built over a cave entrance, looks like. That's Orochimaru's style of hideout."

"Something at the cliff bottom as well," Chouji noted, "looks like a fight happened down there, cracked the cliff-face."

"That was the explosion," Shikamaru said, "you can still see some dust in the air. Not a fight, though, not enough collateral damage for any of the people likely to be involved. Someone broke into whatever's behind that building."

"Three guesses who," Jiraiya chuckled.

"Mah, well, I'd guess Kuma from the size of the crack," Kakashi offered, causing the four shinobi below him to flinch in surprise. Naruto almost fell off the ledge, catching himself with chakra-laced feet at the last second.

Glaring over his shoulder at the grinning Jounin crouched on the cliff face, Naruto demanded, "Dammit, Kakashi-sensei, why'd you have to go and do that? I almost fell!"

"Mah, well, it seemed like a good idea at the time."

"You're being loud, Naruto-kun," Anko commented. She was standing out from the cliff, a short way above and south of Kakashi. "'Course, that's a moot point, given that the gaki have already been through."

"Anko-chan," Jiraiya said with a smile, "I haven't seen you in years! How are you..."

"Don't even talk to me, pervert," Anko cut him off, "I remember the last time all too well. This time, I'll break more than your nose."

Shikamaru held a quelling hand in front of Jiraiya, and to his surprise, the Sanin dropped his incipient retort, giving him a raised eyebrow. "I'm kind of curious as to what you two are doing out here," Shikamaru asked.

Anko shrugged, "looking for the gaki, what else?"

"You're supposed to be making sure they stay in the tunnels," Shikamaru reminded her.

She grinned, "Right! And that's what we're going to do. Just as soon as we find them and drag them back. 'Course, we might run into Orochimaru and a few Akatsuki thugs, but we'll fulfill our mission. How about you, Shika-chan? Aren't you supposed to be east of here?"  
"Snake left us a message," he said, then pointed over his shoulder with a thumb, "told us to come check out this one, which was left for you. You heard the explosion, I presume?"

"Big one," Kakashi said, "hard to miss. Sounded like one of Kuma's techniques, looks like it, too, from here. That note's a little worrisome, though. We had no sign of anyone other than the kids out here. Probably one of Orochimaru's agents in Konoha."

"So we're heading into a trap. We need reinforcements, then."

"And we've got them," Kakashi said, and Shikamaru swore he was grinning wider than Anko behind that mask.

"'Course, it's more like we're reinforcing them," Anko commented, "seeing as they're already in the serpent's lair and all."

"Oh-ho, you think your Genin are that good, Anko?" Jiraiya was quite obvious in his disbelief. "I admit I've heard some amazing things, but they're still just Genin."

Anko shrugged again, "They're the gaki, not Genin. Messed up punks who've surprised me too many times for me to disbelieve anything about them. But we'll want to hurry, if we're going get there before they get themselves killed, or Orochimaru slips away again."

"One condition," Shikamaru said, and the two older Jounin looked at him questioningly. "You can come along, I'll welcome your support, but this is my team. I respect both of you, and I'm not trying to be a glory-hound, but a divided command is a dead command."

"Come on, kids," Jiraiya said, "I don't mind following the boy's orders. He gives some pretty good ones, for a rookie."

Shikamaru was tempted to glare, but decided not to waste the effort. From the time Jiraiya joined the team in the Hokage's office, he had proven immune to any sort of repressive looks. _Probably from working with Tsunade so long_, Shikamaru thought to himself,_ she's already used all of them so often he's inured._

"Mah, Jounin's a Jounin," Kakashi murmured, "you won't mind advise though, ne?"

Shikamaru shook his head, "Can't be any worse than Naruto's. Let's get a move on. We'll go in the same way the kids did, maybe avoid whatever trap was set by whoever left the message. Our mission is Yohko and them, not Orochimaru. If we run into him, great. If not, we get in and out with our targets and come back later with more shinobi."

------------------------------

"So, six directions," Mitsumi said, leaning against the wall of the chamber, "all of them looking exactly the same. Who wants to split up and check all six at once? It'll be fun!"

"Urusai, Kitsune," Juubei muttered, "though I have to admit I'm stumped on this one. We can't afford the time to check each passage one at a time, but we can't afford to split up, either."

"We'll improvise," Raiden said.

Hinata continued, "Mitsumi, can you please read for Yohko again? And any other strong chakra signatures?"

Mitsumi nodded, but did not move any further. Focusing on her vision, stretching her own chakra out into the environment and pouring it through her eyes, she could almost perceive the small chakra signatures of the snakes in the forest outside. Far below her, she could sense five chakra signatures, one of which was clearly Yohko. The others were gathered a distance away from Yohko, faint but clear.

"Down," she said aloud, "Yohko's alone, there are four others." She pulled one arm out of its folded position over her chest and pointed a little north of down, "Yohko's that way," the arm swung south, "the others are gathered there. Oh, and Naruto's outside, couple kilometers away. Couldn't read who else was with him, or how many, but they're coming along quick-like."

Raiden nodded, "We'll have reinforcements when we need them, then. Kuma, get me a read and see which of these passages heads down furthest."

Watching Kuma's chakra flow through the rock was weird, at best. It was unnatural, to Mitsumi, seeing chakra move that easily through something that was not alive. It did not flow in the smooth curves and arcs she could see in living things, but in angular kinks and lines, unpredictable but weirdly purposeful. It was just one more thing in this place that gave her the wiggins.

It also took him longer than it took her, but a couple minutes later, he came out of his trance, and pointed, one arm straight ahead, the other at the passage just left of the one they had entered the room by. "These two go the deepest. The others all spiral out sideways within twenty, thirty meters. Looks like labs and storerooms. These two go down, far enough that I loose track of them. Too much chakra around here, too much interference. I don't think I'm being blocked deliberately, but…" he shrugged, then repeated, "too much interference."

"Better options, but still a problem," Hinata muttered.

"But better than it was," Raiden said. "Kuma, leave a mark for our reinforcements, one arrow pointing in each tunnel. Juubei, take your team down the left passage, I'll take mine down the one straight ahead."

"Bad idea, splitting up," Juubei said. "You three are our trump card to take the snake out, what happens if we run into him?"

"Lure him to us," Raiden answered, "or fight him yourself. The three of you might be able to surprise him. Up to you, but remember, there are Akatsuki members running around in here as well."

"Akatsuki should be easy enough," Hinata said, "they are not as good as the original organization's members. If it is Orochimaru, retreat and we will find you."

"And if we find Yohko?"

Raiden was quite for a minute, and all of them turned to him. Mitsumi could feel him arguing with himself, but to her surprise Hinata was silent. After a moment, he whispered, "if you find her, take her and run. Get her out of here and we'll finish the mission ourselves." A moment later, as the rest of them let out a collective breath of relief, he said louder, "Let's move, Guardians, before our prey escapes us."

"Remember to watch for traps," Hinata told them all, "they'll be worse after this."

------------------------------

"Sssso, they come of their own volitttion. Gooood." Orochimaru was whispering, but the pleasure in his voice was obvious.

"They have divided, Master," one of the kneeling figures informed him, "at the third axel chamber. They follow the descent paths."

Orochimaru chuckled softly, then ordered, "Gasssari, Anko, teach thessse children to fffear the dark."


	29. 28 Tunnels & Mazes

**Rise of the Guardians**

By Daishi Prime

- 28 – Tunnels & Mazes -

Juubei watched Raiden, Mitsumi and Yohko vanish down their chosen tunnel with some trepidation. He did not like splitting up, but it was the best chance they had for finding both Yohko and Orochimaru. He also did not care for the subtle sense of distance Raiden had displayed ever since they entered these tunnels, or the way Hinata kept watching him. Neither was normal, and this situation was already abnormal enough.

Rumiko's question was a surprise, Are you worried they will find the Serpent, or that they will not?

Juubei considered it for a second, then shrugged. "Neither, really. I'm just wondering why Raiden's depressed, and Hinata's worried, but Mitsumi's not."

Kitsune is worried, if the others are. She just does not show it.

Juubei shrugged again, but his response was cut off by Kuma straightening in front of their tunnel. "Done. The stone knows where we're going, and will tell Kakashi and Anko."

"Then we should get moving. Kuma, point please. Rumiko in the middle, I'll take tail."

The tunnel proved to be just as ridiculously convoluted as those that lead them to the split. Traps every few meters, weird twists and turns, changes in humidity that could not be explained by simple depth, it was a strange and unnatural place that made all three of them nervous. But somewhere down here was their missing sister, and their ultimate boogeyman. They had come for both, and would not leave without at least one.

-----------------------------

The path the kids had taken through the valley to the cave complex was quite obvious. The scorched trees where indeterminate traps had once stood guard were the most obvious markers, some of them still smoking. The trail of dead snakes, and the horde of live ones, was another. Those might have been a problem, had they been present in greater numbers, but at this point were easily dealt with.

"These snakes remind me of bad times," Shikamaru muttered, at one point as they cleared another battle site, "bad times I don't really want to remember."

"It can't really be Orochimaru," Naruto countered, "he's dead."

"The snake's tricky," Jiraiya countered, "very tricky. I can think of several ways how he survived that battle, none of them pleasant."

Tilting his head to look at the Sanin, Shikamaru asked, "He was supposed to have taken a new host at the last second, ne? Any thoughts as to who?"

Jiraiya shrugged, "Who knows? His body-switching jutsu is supposed to have a three year minimum wait between swaps, and while we fought him before those three years were up, it was only barely, so we may have miscalculated. It's also possible he improved the jutsu, reduced the waiting period, but the only ones still standing at the end of that battle were Konoha shinobi, who have all been accounted for since, several times. As for the others, most were dead, or near enough to it not to have survived. It's possible he chose one of those, his medical knowledge was good enough to keep a dying body going longer than should have been possible. Long enough to transfer again? Who knows?"

"Not good," Shikamaru muttered, "not good at all."

"But at least there won't be much climbing," Kakashi pointed out, gesturing at the cliff they were approaching.

They reached the base a few seconds later, and paused there, considering the devastation. A burned out circle of grass surrounded a massive, ragged hole in the cliff face, and the trees around them were stripped of leaves, with bark heavily scored. The two trees closest to the hole still had stone chunks embedded in the trunks. "Must have been quite the blast," Jiraiya muttered, rubbing his hands over one scoured tree trunk, "This that 'Thunderbolt' I've been hearing about?"

"Like I said, Kuma," Kakashi reminded him, "Fist of the Earth Dragon. Stone barrier like this, they'd have turned to Kuma first."

"The fire was Mitsumi," Naruto added, "probably to hold off the snakes?"

"Probably," Anko agreed. "Kuma to open the door, Mitsumi to give him room, the rest on over-watch. Question is, did they actually make it inside under their own power, or were they dragged in by Akatsuki?"

-----------------------------

"Noisy little brats, aren't they," Anko muttered, stepping out of the wall. She strolled over to one side of the room, considering the kanji marked out in the floor, the simple arrows beneath them.

"The Master wants them alive, though," Gasari replied, weird gamboling stride taking him to the other set of sigils. "You want the Chunin, or the other group?"

Anko waved negligently towards the tunnel Gasari was nearest, "you take the kids. I want to see if this trio's all it's cracked up to be. They must be good to have taken down Kisame, but fish-face was getting old. They won't have it so easy against me."

"Erase the markers," Gasari reminded her, then slid down into the rock, following the routes the Master had established for his Akatsuki to use to avoid the 'real' corridors designed to deal efficiently with any intruders.

Anko sneered at him, but only after he was safely lost in the rock. The weird little foreigner with the meaningless name could not hurt her, but he had some strange abilities, that she did not enjoy being the subject of. She strolled over, and casually slid her foot over one set of sigils, using chakra to pull the stone behind her foot. When she was done, both sets of kanji were gone. A moment later, so was she, sliding through the rock in pursuit of her prey.

-----------------------------

Kuma waited until the third time they entered the room before mentioning it. In part, he was trying to determine what was happening, but primarily, he wanted to be certain it was happening, and how significant the effect was. "We're caught in a genjutsu," he whispered to his teammates behind him, "don't know how big"

A tap brought his attention to Rumiko. This room and the passage back to the next. I have not been able to determine how long it has been here, or where the creator is, but it appears to be just a misdirection illusion.

"Wonderful," Juubei muttered back. "Any idea on where it's coming from?"

"Gimme a minute." Kuma began spreading his chakra through the surrounding rocks, as he had when the Guardians split up, searching for differences. He had no idea how Mitsumi could just _look_ and find chakra everywhere. For him, it was a matter of learning about what was around him, understanding how it all fit together, and then finding what did not belong. Rocks and even sand were solid, stable things, they did not change quickly or easily under common conditions, and thus changes stood out clearly. So he probed the rocks, finding their nature and structure, and looking for what, in the immediate vicinity, was _different_.

"Got it," he said after a moment, "one shinobi, overhead, apex of the room. Looks like an earth jutsu, not another cave."

"Can you get him out?"

"Maybe, but I probably can't kill him. Ceiling's too high for me to reach."

"Then we'll handle him down here," Juubei reasoned easily.

"Need time?"

"Whenever you're ready," Juubei reassured him, "Rumiko's set to take him low, I'll take him high, you bring the ceiling down on him."

Nodding his understanding of Juubei's intent, Kuma sent his chakra questing through the rocks once more, Kuma was careful to avoid sending any directly towards the hidden shinobi. Whatever he was waiting for, a direct attack would push him to act now. Instead, Kuma flowed his chakra into the rocks of the ceiling a few meters away, sending tendrils as deep into the ceiling as he could, thin questing tendrils that were no different from those he had used a moment before to locate his target. But once he had plenty of them in place, roughly encircling the hidden shinobi, he pulsed a wave of chakra through those tendrils, far more than the rock could handle. Like water freezing in cracks, it shattered the stone in a series of gunshot cracks followed by a thunderous explosion and massive roar as the entire ceiling caved in.

Before the dust cleared, Kuma knew something was wrong. He lost track of the shinobi as the rocks fell, but he also lost track of Juubei and Rumiko. Not wanting to get in their way, he backed up to the wall and slid into guard, waiting for enemy or ally to show themselves.

-----------------------------

Juubei hit the left wall at a run, using pure speed to climb up it, preparatory to leaping at the hidden shinobi once the debris cleared enough. Before he could, however, he felt the whole world shift and shimmer, and for a second thought that Kuma's technique had spawned a real earthquake. He lost his balance, and his momentum, and tumbled to the floor of the chamber in a fall only semi-controlled.

"What's the matter, kid, problem with heights?"

Juubei came upright, bladed knuckles appearing in his hands, scanning for the speaker. He ignored the insulting comment, more concerned by his inability to locate his siblings than mere words.

"Don't bother waiting for assistance, I've already dispatched your teammates."

_Lying, covering something,_ Juubei thought to himself, _that means I'm still in a genjutsu. He probably can't hurt me, but if he's good enough to affect us this completely, I'm not going to be able to break free on my own._

"The strong silent type, eh? Well, that's all right. You just wait here and rest, soon you'll be quite comfortable, sleeping like a babe."

Juubei could feel something pulling at him, a tiredness, and cursed mentally as he realized the genjutsu was not just an illusion, but trying to render him unconscious.

_I'm not giving them another hostage,_ he swore.

-----------------------------

Rumiko broke right, skirting the foot of the cavern wall as stones tumbled down. Avoiding the falling rock was simple, but she skittered to a halt less than a quarter of the way into her charge. Unlike Juubei, she was used to being behind her teammates, to having them in view all the time, and it was now an unconscious habit. So she knew the instant the two boys vanished, and felt the wavering in reality as the genjutsu worked its way through her chakra to twist her senses.

Also unlike Juubei, unlike any of their sibs save Yohko, and possibly Hinata, Rumiko could feel the variance, the odd sense of imbalance within herself, that indicated a genjutsu was affecting her. She was not sensitive enough to it to recognize the specific technique, as Yohko could, but she knew it was there, knew that what her senses were reporting was not necessarily the truth. So she made no move to find a 'better position', as such a position would, no doubt, be concealing either the shinobi they now faced, or another trap.

"You're quicker than your brothers, girl," the voice seemed to come from everywhere, echoing slightly. "I'd finished with them before they realized they were in a genjutsu."

Rumiko ignored him, and began working on breaking herself free of the genjutsu. She and Yohko had thought of several ways they might be able to break free of traditional genjutsu, but had yet to have opportunity to test them. She started with pulses of chakra around herself, ripples in her aura, but she had a list as long as her arm of things to try, and was more than willing to burn through all of them.

------------------------------

Kuma was the last of the trio to realize something was wrong. The delicate work of setting up the crack, followed by the intense burst of chakra necessary to actually achieve it, left him panting for a few seconds, on guard, but not ready to go on offense himself. So he was still in position when the voice echoed out of nowhere.

"That was a cute trick, kid," The voice was masculine, but shrill and grating. "You should've gone for the kill, though. Now I've got you and your friends, and none of you will leave here alive."

The echoes in the chamber were odd, and the slowly settling dust cloud did not help, but Kuma could tell there were more than natural reasons he could not locate the speaker. "Your overconfidence will be your undoing," he informed the shinobi, who he assumed was Akatsuki.

The unknown chuckled, voice shifting oddly from high to low pitch, then back to high, "I have your friends dead at my feat, and Master only wants one live one. He would like two, so I've reason to let you live, if you're a good little boy."

"We do not surrender to enemies of Konoha," Kuma replied, "and I will believe my sibs are dead when I witness their deaths."

"That can be arranged. Here, enjoy the view."

Kuma ignored the two bodies that faded into view, knowing them for part of the genjutsu. He could still, vaguely, sense Juubei and Rumiko, nearby but out of reach. Sending his chakra into the rocks again, Kuma started hunting for the foreign shinobi, trying to see past the genjutsu, since he knew he would not be able to break it.

------------------------------

"Well, this is a problem," Shikamaru muttered, staring at the six passages. Making their way through the maze of caves had been relatively simple, a matter of keeping their eyes open for where the traps had already been triggered rather than actually tracking anyone. Now, however, there were no traces of traps, no tracks, nothing but six identical passages leading deeper into the mountain.

"We could each take one," Naruto suggested, strolling over to one at random, running a hand over the rough stone. "split up, then drag the guys back here when we catch up to them."

"I'm not one for splitting up," Shikamaru muttered. "Kakashi, can your nin-dogs find any scents?"

Leaning against the wall of the cavern they entered by, Kakashi shrugged. "Worth a try. Kuchiyose no jutsu." The puff of smoke vanished quickly, replaced by a small brown dog sitting in Kakashi's hand. "Ah, Pa-kun, good to see you again."

"The reverse isn't true," Pa-kun rumbled back, "you never call on me unless you've screwed something up. What do I have to fix this time?"

"Mah, just looking for my team," Kakashi replied, shoving off the wall and walking into the room. "We don't know which passage they used."

Pa-kun leapt off Kakashi's hand, then paused, and looked up at his 'master'. "Why don't you just read the signs, kid?"

Kakashi blinked, then blinked again. Sure enough, the rock before him was sinking into lines, which resolved into an arrow, and 'Team Eight'. "Ah, Kuma's work," Kakashi muttered, "keyed to my chakra, I bet."

Anko appeared next to him, "What about my kids?"

Kakashi shrugged, but before he could say anything, Pa-kun answered her, pointing with one paw, "they went this way. Smells worse down there than the other one."

Shikamaru sighed heavily, "Damn, we're going to have to split up after all. Naruto, go with Kakashi and Anko to get his team back. We'll go after Hinata and the other two."

Anko held out a hand, blocking Naruto's path. "What's your mission, Shikamaru?"

He looked at her quizzically, "Getting these kids back to Konoha so they can be properly reamed out."

Anko shook her head, "No, Shika-chan, what's your _mission_. What did Tsunade tell you to do, in her office?"

He continued to look at her for a moment, then sighed, "To retrieve Iraisen Yohko and return her to Konoha. Why did I agree to bring you along, again?"

Anko smiled, "Right! Congratulations, Shika-chan, you're memory's not failing you! Take your team and go get her, down there," she pointed down the tunnel indicated by Team Eight's arrow. "You can pick up Kakashi's team while he and I pick up mine."

"How do you know Yohko's down there, and not down the other shaft?"

Anko shrugged. "I'm counting on Raiden's obsessions. He'll go for Orochimaru, not Yohko, but he also won't abandon her. So, he'll send his sibs to get her, while he takes his strongest fighters to go after the toughest target."

"What makes you think they know which way leads to which target?"

"Mitsumi, of course. Maybe Kuma as well." Anko grinned, though it was more amused than her normal psychotic, "Mostly, though, it's Raiden's luck. That kid will _always_ find the hardest target, no matter how unlikely or unbeatable it is."

"You're going to be stubborn about this, aren't you?"

"Of course."

"Mandekuso. Fine, you two go retrieve Anko's team. The rest of us will follow Kakashi's team and hope we run into Yohko."

------------------------------

Rumiko was having no luck breaking the genjutsu. The most she had accomplished was to firm up her sense of where Kuma and Juubei were, still approximately where they should have been when she notice the genjutsu, still alive, but obviously just as trapped as she was. _Mitsumi's link would be useful about now,_ she thought to herself, _I wonder how it affects genjutsu targeting them?_

"... so come on, little girl, give it up. You can't escape, you may as well just relax, let yourself drift away. The longer you struggle against me, the worse you will be hurt. If you cooperate, the Master will probably offer you a place in Akatsuki, a place in the power structure of the new world he is building. If you keep struggling, you're just going to die, unremembered, un-remarked, un-mourned..."

Whoever was generating the genjutsu was a talker, trying to get into her head and break her will. She could tune him out, but he was very good at the psychological aspects, better than Yohko, and kept varying the pitch, tone and pace of his words, fading in and out of her attention. It was annoying, but she could tell she confused him, probably her lack of response leaving him no information about her state of mind to work with. She was seriously worried about how he was working on Juubei and Kuma, since she knew _none_ of her brothers would be able to keep from replying to taunts like these. But helping them carried a prerequisite of breaking the genjutsu, which she had yet to manage.

She had tried every technique she and Yohko had come up with, but none of them had worked. She was beginning to suspect she was caught in some sort of blood-line limit, or a combination of genjutsu and seals similar to Tenjin's Maze, something where the only way out was through the creator, which left her with the difficulty of finding the creator, which was easy in Tenjin's Maze, but difficult here.

_I can't see chakra like Mitsumi or Hinata-sensei, or feel positions through the rock like Kuma,_ she debated the issue with part of her attention, the rest still trying to pierce the genjutsu through traditional means. She debated her siblings' methods for a few moments, trying to determine if she could adapt one of their techniques on the fly. _They each have their ways, how can I do it? I'm a healer, not a fighter, I can't find..._

It was so blindingly simple she almost missed it. _I'm a healer. I can find his heartbeat, his lungs, his life itself. Disrupt those, and I will disrupt his genjutsu._ She stopped listening to him again, and turned inwards, finding her center then sending her chakra out. It was difficult for her, since normally when she did this, she was sending it into a known injury at close range, but she persevered, hunting for that sense of vitality that would tell her where the stranger was.

------------------------------

Kuma had narrowed down the region to a small area of the room where the shinobi had to be. He had managed to vaguely locate Juubei and Rumiko, by completely tuning out the shinobi's taunting voice, but only generally, enough to know that there was no way he could just bring the roof down without catching them as well.

Part of him wondered why this strange shinobi had not attacked. None of the three Guardians had moved since they recognized the genjutsu, so they should have been easy targets. But given his talking and that fluctuating sense of tiredness Kuma could feel, it was entirely possible that the shinobi could not attack, either because he could not move, or because action on his part would break the genjutsu.

Regardless, Kuma had the region down, roughly atop the pile of rubble left from Kuma dropping the ceiling. The loose pile of rocks was too unstable, too freshly moved, for him to get a good read through it, but it was the only place where he could not get such a read. Thus, unless the genjutsu was utterly binding his senses, that pile was the only place the shinobi could be.

_So, I know where he is,_ Kuma thought, _so what am I going to do about it? I can't bring the ceiling down, not entirely. I have to take him down without harming Rumiko or Juubei. What about bringing a column of rock up? Can I pin him back against the ceiling, too fast for him to react and use ninjutsu to merge with it again?_

A shift in the sense of his siblings told him it was time to move, and he stopped debating. Reaching deep into the rock surrounding him, Kuma set his grip, and prayed he had the right target.

------------------------------

Juubei was getting impatient. He had only the vaguest sense of where Rumiko and Kuma were, just that they were close. He also no longer had any idea which way he was facing in the room. The genjutsu had twisted his perceptions around repeatedly as he argued with the shinobi, until he was no longer even entirely certain which way was up.

He had thought about using Thousand Leaves, spreading the strike as wide as possible. One or two would not seriously injure anyone, but should be enough to disrupt the genjutsu. But while he knew Kuma could take it, he was uncertain if Rumiko could, because none of them had ever hit her with their strongest attacks. It was a point he knew he should have addressed earlier, but now was not the time to find out. Without Thousand Leaves' wide-area coverage, he could not risk throwing random bolts or kunai, because they would not hit anything, but would still have a risk of hitting Rumiko.

He knew he was not the most patient of the Guardians. While he was not as irrepressibly hyper as his twin sister, he did prefer doing to thinking, acting to waiting, and this sort of drawn out mental game was seriously annoying. But he could not stand to just wait, even knowing that Rumiko and Kuma, for different reasons, were better able to deal with this situation. So, despite knowing it was a mistake, he swapped out his bladed knuckles for a double fist-full of kunai, and started trying to minimize the odds of hitting his sibs.

"Oooh, the gaki's going to do something, finally." The shinobi's weirdly pitched voice was aggravating, even without that insultingly amused tone. He had shifted from wheedling to insulting and right back incessantly, offering power, threatening death, ridiculing the Guardians, claiming to have killed the others already... Juubei would have been willing to kill him just for that, even without the genjutsu, or the fact that he was standing between him and Yohko.

"Gimme a target, coward," Juubei snarled, "and I'll show you what I can do."

The other shinobi chuckled, "Now why would I do that, when I've got you right where I want you? You're persistence is really quite enterta... ta..."

The stutter, and a disturbing shiver in his vision, gave Juubei all the warning he needed. As the world flowed around him, he ground himself down into a tight coil, looking for the new danger. Then, a stumbling, misshapen form appeared half-hidden by collapsed rocks, and he exploded out of the coil. Eight kunai leapt from his hands, spreading slightly to cover the target's possible evasions. The shinobi ducked under the strike, rolling backwards down the rock-pile, and Juubei cursed, following through the throws to reach around his back for his bladed knuckles.

A quivering in the ground threw off his stride as he hit the rock-pile, shaking some of his footing away, but he saw Kuma gesturing out of the corner of his vision, and put his trust in his brother. A moment later, with a grinding roar, that trust was justified as a massive pillar of rock exploded through the debris, carrying the target with it. The man managed to roll off centimeters short of being crushed against the ceiling, but Juubei was on him almost instantly.

Akatsuki or not, whoever he was, Juubei was soon sure he was not close-in fighter. All he did was try to dodge, which was never a good idea when Juubei had blades in his hands and there was no room to run. Something was also obviously wrong with him, the man's moves were recognizable to Juubei as some very advanced techniques, but they were oddly slowed and hesitant, and half of them aborted for no reason Juubei could figure out. In all, it took him less than thirty seconds to pound through the man's defenses and open a pair of arteries, one with a down-strike inside his thigh, the other across the throat as Juubei spun upright from the first.

Breathing slightly faster than normal, Juubei stepped back from the dying man, studying him dispassionately. "Damn, that took way too long," he muttered.

"Sorry, couldn't find him," Kuma said.

Juubei looked up, finding his sibs stepping up beside him. Rumiko's fingers flashed, Found his life-signs, messed with them. Think I gave him a heart-attack.

Juubei grunted, nodding acknowledgement. "Thanks for breaking us out of that. I hate genjutsu, at least when I'm stuck in 'em."

No problem. Frightening, that I can do that to someone.

"You didn't kill him, I did," Juubei said.

Not worried about that. It's just... how can anyone defend against that sort of technique? I know we're not supposed to worry about fair play, but...

"But it's still incredibly hard to defend against. I think a medic-nin would be able to defend against it, but anyone else'll have a hard time. Same thing with most of your techniques."

"We should get moving," Kuma said, looking at the two passages ahead of them, "before someone else comes after us."

"Bad feeling?"

"Someone's behind us. Don't think they're hostile, but I'm not as good as Mitsumi at telling who's who. May be wrong."

Juubei nodded, then waved Kuma forward. "Point please. Rumiko in the middle, I'll bring up the tail again. Any idea which way?"

"Left leads up."

"Right it is, then."


	30. 29 Hammer & Tongs

**Rise of the Guardians**

By Daishi Prime

- 29 – Hammer & Tongs -

For close to an hour, Mitsumi lead the three of them deeper into the caves, through a twisting, convoluted maze of dark walls and endless damp. There were no traps, which only served to make all of them more nervous, and no rooms, either, just a long spiraling descent lit by less and less frequent torches.

Mitsumi spotted the woman before they entered the chamber, but only barely. She was suppressing her chakra signature very well, but something about it stood out plainly, at least to Mitsumi. _Kunoichi ahead of us, next room,_ Mitsumi told the others, _she's got a hickey like Ba-chan's._

For a moment, the three of them debated how to handle her. Mitsumi favored a straight rush, Raiden preferred backtracking to try and bypass her. Finally, Hinata convinced Raiden that leaving her behind them was too dangerous, and talked Mitsumi into trying a bit of deception. Mitsumi faded out, and then Hinata and Raiden ghosted into the room as quietly as possible, wary for whatever traps the woman might have laid.

The chamber beyond was long and narrow, with a high ceiling, a straight run from door to door, unobstructed by architecture or furniture. It was one of the few well lit rooms they had seen so far, with a pair of heavy iron chandeliers dangling from the ceiling. The woman in question was leaning against the far wall, just to the right of the only route out, a heavy wooden door barred shut from the far side.

Wary or not, Raiden and Hinata could not help freezing momentarily in surprise. She was slightly taller than average height, with dark purple hair pulled back in a rough pony tail, short shirt and skirt over a fishnet bodysuit, the whole covered by a voluminous coat. A half-eaten stick of dango hung from her teeth as she grinned at them. Hinata was the only one to speak, "Anko?"

"Hai, gaki, it's about time you kids got here," Anko replied with a grin, shoving off the wall to begin strolling towards them, "Where's the little one?"

_She's not Anko,_ Mitsumi warned them, _chakra's different, the hickey's in the wrong place._

_Thanks, Mitsumi,_ Raiden replied, then spoke aloud, "So, any particular reason you're imitating our sensei, or do you actually think this'll throw us off?"

The woman quirked an eyebrow, "I'm not imitating anyone, gaki. Name's Mitarashi Anko," she gave him a superior smirk, "the _real_ one. Don't know who's been playing me all these years in Konoha, don't really care, either. She's a pale imitation of the original."

Raiden shook his head, as Hinata answered, "Anko-sensei is the true one. She lives in Konoha, she is one of us, thus she is real. You serve a traitor, bear his mark, and are thus an imitator." _Some sort of clone? Could we destabilize her?_

_She's real enough to carry a curse mark,_ Raiden countered.

_She uses it to,_ Mitsumi added. _I can see some places where it's damaged her chakra pathways, like the Uchiha's._

"Whatever you kids think, I'm the real deal." Anko shrugged, "don't care if you believe me or not. But I _do_ care if you're going to make this fun. Since I can't see the third kid but I know she's here, I'm guessing you're going to at least _try_. So come on, show me what you can do."

Raiden considered the grinning woman for a few seconds, moving left as Hinata moved right, both of them walking down the hall at the same pace as the woman coming to meet them. The three of them were sharing thoughts and ideas with so quickly they barely formed, evaluating their enemy. The Anko-clone was walking down the center of the chamber, stance relaxed, body loose, her eyes half-closed as she focused on other senses. She was not in any sort of stance, but her guard was quite obviously raised, and her lack of formal stance denied them knowledge of her fighting style.

_Assume she's just like Anko-sensei,_ Hinata finally decided, _she holds herself the same, she dresses the same, she was probably trained by the same person. Until she proves differently, treating her like she was the real Anko is smartest._

_Lots of ninjitsu enhancing her taijutsu, then,_ Mitsumi commented, _fire and snakes, only weapons'll be kunai._

_Hammer and Tongs,_ Raiden decided, _Hinata and I will be the tongs, Mitsumi's the striker._

_Take a while to get her set up for it,_ Mitsumi commented, _I could always use Become the Flame._

Raiden shook his head slightly, _Not if you want to be any use later._

_And not if you want us to get out of this unscathed,_ Hinata added.

Anko stopped, halfway down the room, less than five meters between her and them now. She was still grinning, and took a second to finish her dango before saying, "if you three are coming, now's the time. My Master's going to be impatient for his new prizes, and if you hold me up too long, I might not be nice when I finally take you to him."

Their reply was simple and direct. Raiden and Hinata leapt into the attack simultaneously, racing forward, inside arms back, outside arms leading. Anko's grin never wavered as she slid one foot back, and brought both her hands up in times to slap the mirror-image strikes sideways, forcing the Guardians to spin away from her.

It was obvious she expected to reply to their attack while they were recovering, given her lightning fast recovery and forward lean, but instead she back-flipped away, a moment before Mitsumi appeared right in front of her. The move caused Mitsumi's flame-wrapped fist to miss high, and the four of them rolled apart, pausing momentarily to evaluate.

_She's faster than she looks,_ Mitsumi commented.

_Just her blocks and strikes, though,_ Hinata countered, _her overall maneuverability is no better than mine._

_Were you two reaching for the link?_ Raiden knew he had been, and though he had felt them doing the same.

_Of course, aho._

_Yes,_ Hinata's reply was questioning.

_All of us were,_ Raiden replied. _Why didn't we pull together like we did against Kisame?_

_We're missing something,_ Mitsumi told him, _an emotion? Maybe a technique?_

_Physical contact?_ Hinata offered, then immediately countered, _No, I was not in contact when the merge first occurred._

The exchange happened in the blink of an eye, and Anko was just settling into stance, saying, "Come on, gaki, I know you can do better than that. You took down fish-face, after all, and decrepit as he was, he wasn't this weak."

_Contact's worth a try,_ Raiden said, _we'll need the merge if she activates her seal before we can take her down. _He held out a hand, and Mitsumi's settled into his grip almost immediately. The link to Mitsumi opened wide, and he could feel the heat of her mind roaring through his own, calmed a moment later by Hinata's steadying presence.

"Aahh, are the little kiddies afraid of mean old me?" Anko's grin was downright malevolent now. "Shouldn't have come down here then, ne?"

"We are not afraid of you, clone," the three of them spoke as one, and Raiden felt a profound relief that it was working, as their minds flowed with smooth unity, "but you are an obstacle in our path that must be removed."

A flicker of doubt appeared in her eyes, and the three Guardians smiled at her, recognizing how their unified voices disturbed her. Then Mitsumi faded from view, and he and Hinata struck again, charging forward with all the speed Mitsumi's shunpo could give them. They almost failed in the attack, stumbling slightly when their unity faded as they let go of each other, but they held together and carried through. Anko, turned, reducing her profile towards them, then met their charge with one of her own, aiming for Raiden.

She led with a Serpent Destroyer, a column of snakes launching from her sleeve with titanic force. Raiden avoided it by dropping into a roll, passing beneath the strike as Anko brought her heel down towards his head. He ducked sideways, still in his crouch, and felt Hinata pass by Anko's far side. "You lose," he muttered, and lunged past the woman himself, passing beneath Hinata as she dove over him, pulling the chakra strings trailing between them taught. He and Hinata regained their feet as Anko turned, and leapt further away from each other. Anko had a moment to gasp in surprise, before invisible ropes constricted about her, pinning her arms in place and forcing her rigidly upright.

The woman had enough time to suck in a breath when Mitsumi appeared again, already airborne and down-bound from the apex of a long, high arc. Raiden held the chakra lines as long as he could, until her heard Mitsumi's voice shouting, "Fire Hammer!" The blast of heat and light swept over him, severing his chakra strings, and a moment later there was a deeper, louder detonation as Anko hit the wall, causing it to explode in a cloud of dust and stone, accompanied by a sickening wave of chakra.

Raiden spun to face her immediately, and his fears were confirmed. The three Guardians watched as the woman flailed her way clear of the debris almost immediately, and she was no longer smiling. She was snarling at them, half her coat and bodysuit gone, covered in angry red burn marks. More disturbingly, overlaying the burns were traceries of black lines, an endless array of commas connected tip to head.

_Told you she used it,_ Mitsumi commented.

"You kids are going to regret that," Anko snarled, bringing up one clawed hand.

"Konoha's Guardians are the least of your concerns, imitator." The voice was a surprise, cold, silkily smooth, and definitely not from anyone Raiden knew was in the room.

------------------------------

Shikamaru raised one hand as they reached the entrance to the chamber, dark eyes scanning the dim torchlight as he crouched in the tunnel. The cave had obviously been the scene of a battle of some sort, and fairly recently from the dust still in the air, but none of them had heard a thing. For a few seconds, he traced the path of the battle, over the fallen ceiling rocks, past the pillar in back, to where a small bloodstain was just visible on the wall.

Leaning over him, Jiraiya whistled softly, then commented, "Looks like someone had fun."

"And none of us noticed it," Shikamaru muttered. "Slow and careful. Naruto, take the pervert down the left side. Chouji, back me up."

The room proved clean, other than the remnants of the fight, and after a quick sweep, they gathered again close to the corpse slumped against the back wall. "Gassari," Jiraiya commented, "nationality unknown, allegiance prior to Akatsuki unknown. There is some evidence that indicates he was created entirely by Orochimaru using artificial means. Genjutsu specialist, supposedly able to kill with nothing more than an illusion of wildflowers."

"Apparently he was overrated," Naruto muttered, nudging one lifeless foot.

Studying the positions and patterns of Gassari's remains, Shikamaru asked, "Anyone else see a problem here?"

Chouji was, as usual, content to let him think aloud, and Naruto just gave him a clueless look. "Hmm, maybe," Jiraiya answered, "but then, that could just be because a trio of Genin took down an Akatsuki member. Again."

"Different trio, and these jokers hardly qualify as Akatsuki," Naruto countered.

"Tetsuo would beg to differ," Shikamaru muttered, stepping over the body to study the wall. "As for here, he was dead before those wounds were inflicted."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, but Naruto beat him to the question, "Huh? How can that be?"

"Not enough blood," Chouji told them.

Shikamaru nodded, gesturing at the only two wounds on the body, "those two strikes are arterial. Sure he spilled a lot of blood, but this stain up here on the wall isn't nearly long enough... his heart wasn't pumping when they were inflicted. He was already dead."

"Rumiko, then. Tsunade said the girl had potential," Jiraiya was rubbing his jaw now, contemplating. "But dead doesn't mean safe. He must've still been moving. She probably broke them out of a genjutsu..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Naruto interrupted, "we know what happened here. What's it matter? We already knew they're strong. What we need to know is which shaft they went down."

"They went right," Shikamaru told him. "Tracks in the dust. It matters because these kids are leaving quite the hole in a major criminal organization, however weak that organization is compared with its namesake. There are only supposed to be eight Akatsuki members now, and now two are known dead. They can't all be here, which means we'll only have to face one to three more, plus Orochimaru. But even if they can't match their namesake, these guys are supposed to be better than this. So why is Orochimaru using his weaker fighters now? Where's Tetsuo, for instance?"

"One to two left," Jiraiya countered, "and it'll be one before very long. I would be willing to bet this one's partner is currently facing off with Anko's team, and soon to be facing Anko and Kakashi as well. Tetsuo will be here, somewhere. Orochimaru will not have sent him on his way this soon after the kidnapping, not unless he had already left himself."

Shikamaru studied the old Sanin for a moment, debating that statement, then asked, "You think this is a trap, don't you. For the other Guardians."

Jiraiya shrugged. "A trap, maybe a test. Orochimaru was always far too subtle for the simple explanations to apply. Given this, however, I am beginning to think there is more to this situation than just the old snake getting his hands on a more powerful technique. Even he is not so careless of his subordinates."

"You're just full of cheer, aren't you?"

Another shrug. "I'm a crotchety old man, kid, and you kids've never had it as hard as it was in my day. Why, when I was your age..."

Naruto smacked him upside the head before he could really get started. "Urusai, ero-sennin! We done here?" He looked at Shikamaru, and at the other shinobi's nod, turned to the right-hand tunnel. "Then let's get it moving and get the hell out of here before Orochimaru tries something else. The longer we're here, the more we're giving him."

Shikamaru just sighed, muttered to himself, then followed the blonde idiot into the next tunnel. Whatever Orochimaru thought he was doing, Shikamaru was here to get one Iraisen Yohko and, by extension, her friends and teammates, back to Konoha. Anything else was for other people to deal with. Still, as Jiraiya passed him to take second post, he ordered, "let me know if you figure out what he's after. We'll have to be careful not to help the old serpent."

------------------------------

For a few seconds, the five of them simply stared at one another. Anko glaring at the newcomer, the Guardians dividing their attention equally between the known threat and the new one, and the cloaked figure apparently watching all of them. Then Mitsumi started giggling, her amusement bubbling through the link quite plainly.

"Of all the people to come to our rescue," she said through a manic grin, "I never thought it'd be you."

"So you got another body on your side," Anko snarled, "It isn't going to do you any good."

"Oh, I don't know," the strange intoned, "There's a problem with your curse seal, girl, and I know how to exploit it."

She blinked, then snorted derisively, "Yeah, what the hell does a Konoha shinobi know about the Master's personal techniques?"

He chuckled, and Raiden tensed as the cloak over his shoulders started to hunch up from his back, accompanied by sickening cracking sounds. "Your seal only has one stage girl," Sasuke told her, half laughing as his cloak fell away, "mine has two."

_Open the range,_ Raiden ordered, and Mitsumi and Hinata leapt back with him, across the chamber from Anko. She twitched at their move, but her attention was now fully on the Uchiha, who's transformation into a gray-skinned monster was flowing rapidly to a conclusion.

"Traitor," the Akatsuki woman hissed, "the Master will have your head for a trophy today."

"Orochimaru-sama has other things to worry about," Sasuke countered with a smirk, "and you don't begin to have the power or knowledge necessary to defeat me, girl. I, on the other hand, remember helping him to _create_ you, which puts you at a rather distinct disadvantage, now doesn't it? Keep going, gaki. Your prey's down there, waiting for you. Don't look him in the eyes, and you should be fine. I'll clean up this thing."

_Do we trust him?_ Hinata asked, but Raiden was asking himself the same thing.

_He's a traitor. Everyone hates traitors, and he betrayed the snake as badly as he did Konoha,_ Mitsumi offered.

_No choice,_ Raiden decided, _he's a traitor, but he's our traitor at the moment. We take the opening and go for our target._

They bolted before he even finished the thought, Mitsumi vanishing into her Cloak of Light, while Hinata covered herself and Raiden with a pair of bolts. Raiden tossed his own pair of bolts the door, about where he thought the hinges would be, and the structure blew open with satisfying thoroughness. Anko started to move to block them, but flinched back as she was blocked in turn by the Uchiha, one massive hand-like wing slamming into the wall beside her, between her and the Genin. "You really should pay more attention to me, girl," Raiden heard, "I'm by far the most dangerous person in this room." Then the tunnel downward curved sharply left, and he lost sight and sound from the chamber.

_Don't like relying on him,_ Mitsumi muttered.

_So long as he gets us the time to reach our target,_ Raiden said, _Once we're there, we won't need long._

_We could not maintain the merge,_ Hinata worried. _How can we defeat him without it?_

Raiden had an idea how, but he was very, very careful not to think of it. Hinata and Mitsumi would never allow it, however right and however necessary. So he kept his thoughts under control, and only replied, _the merge will be there when we need it, as it was against Kisame. We almost had it against the imitator, and we were in little to no danger from her. Against the Serpent, we will have the merge._

A thunderous explosion, accompanied by dust raining from the ceiling, cut him off, and the three of them froze momentarily. The reverberations came from above, and were accompanied by more, so they dismissed it as the battle they had just departed. Raiden waved Mitsumi onwards, and they continued, deeper into the Serpent's lair.

------------------------------

Anko reached the chamber within seconds of the blast, Kakahi a bare step behind, and she feared the worst. The pulse of chakra, the feel of the blast, was entirely too close to what Raiden threw off with his Thunderbolt, and the sudden cessation of one of the chakra signatures they could sense was a bad sign.

When they reached the chamber, other than a haze of dust settling out of the air, there was no trace of motion. She could see a deep crater in one wall, a few smaller craters scattered about, and a rather gruesome wreck of a body in one of the far corners.

"That wasn't Raiden," Kakashi muttered. Anko glanced back, and noted that he had uncovered his Sharingan eye, but only raised her own eyebrow in question. "Damage is too concentrated. That was Chidori."

"Sasuke," Anko muttered, "What the hell is he doing here?"

"Not returning to Orochimaru," Kakashi muttered, "not after this long, and with Itachi dead. Orochimaru's got nothing to offer him any more."

"He after the gaki, you think? He mad enough at Raiden to try and kill him in the field?"

"No, he thinks Raiden and the rest are beneath him, uppity Genin." Kakashi continued to study the room for a time, then nodded sharply, "he's reinforcement, though I'm not sure why. Revenge on Orochimaru, maybe? Look, near the crater. The scorch pattern on the floor is Mitsumi's. Any of Sasuke's techniques powerful enough to leave a mark on stone would have left one over a larger area. Best guess, they fought whoever is in that corner, then Sasuke showed up and finished her off."

Anko finished for him, "and all of them are now ahead of us down that tunnel? We're closing in, then, good. Let's go get our wayward students, and your pet problem, before they get themselves killed."

They were careful crossing the chamber, leaping along the walls and ceiling rather than the floor, and Anko very carefully did not look at the body. She had killed, and would again, but she never cared to study her handiwork afterwards, let alone someone else's. She had enough nightmares without courting more.

------------------------------

"Impresssive, my student has continued to learn. I am pleasssed."

Tetsuo watched the images in the crystal sphere fade to black, and shook his had slowly. He had not expected the kids to do so well against Anko, nor had he expected the manner of her demise, though he had not expected her to survive. She was no match for him, after all, and he knew he was the only one truly capable of matching those kids. Short of the Master, of course, though he had his hopes in that department. "I'm surprised the traitor's come back, especially now. That's going to be a problem. No offense, Master, but this situation keeps becoming more dangerous. Should I begin preparations to withdraw?"

The soft stuttering laughter above and behind him was disturbing and annoying, but he ignored it as best he could. "No, Tetsssuo, we will not be leaving sssoon. We have guessssstsss to great, ne? Sssstill, I do not care to meet them here, in ssssuch confffining quartersss. We will move to the exssit cavern, and great them properly there. Be sssure the othersss are prepared."

"Yes, Master," Testsuo replied, and a moment later, heard a faint rustle of fabric as his master departed the room.

He still waited a few more seconds, just to be sure, before turning to his task. He left by a different door, traveling down a short passage into a secured chamber. The seals were easy enough to break, he had placed them himself, after all. Inside, four clay pillars were ranked along the walls, each marked with a single kanji. Tetsuo shook his head as he considered them, almost feeling pity. But that was useless for these poor bastards, sine they so obviously had not been up to the challenge they set themselves. He shrugged it off and stepped up to the first of them. "Seiryu," he chuckled, "yeah, you weren't much of a dragon, you arrogant prick. Let's see if you can do better this time around." He hefted the pillar, and looked over the other three – Nanju, Genbu and Rei. _They should prove quite impossible for the kids to defeat,_ Tetsuo thought, though he hated to leave it to them. He had been looking forward to taking on the trio, seeing if their combined abilities were any better than their individual skills. He shrugged again, picking up the second pillar, and muttered, "Ah, well, maybe I'll get to play with the next crew to come after the Master."


	31. 30 Reunions & Repositioning

**Rise of the Guardians**

By Daishi Prime

- 30 – Reunions & Repositioning -

Juubei slipped the door open slowly, carefully, pushing with the tip of a kunai rather than his bare hand. Rumiko had detected one door so heavily coated with a contact-poison it had looked to him like regular wood-stain, so they were now being especially careful, though Kuma had told him there was nothing beyond this door.

The room beyond was small, a couple of meters on a side. It was dank with seepage but no worse than the tunnels had been for some time. The drain on the floor and the chains hanging from the ceiling and scattered about the floor made it quite clear this was not the sort of cell Konoha shinobi were used to seeing. Even more impressive were the lines of seals crawling up the walls. Even standing just inside the entrance, with the open door breaking the pattern, Juubei could feel the seals suppressing his chakra, and it was obvious to him the shackles would complete the effect.

"She's not here," he muttered, "but she was. This was where they held her. Where would they have taken her?"

Kuma replied, "Where could they have taken her? Only side passage since we split up would've taken her right past us. We'd've noticed her."

"Same way the guy we fought got ahead of us," Juubei commented. "Remember, you said he was actually in the rocks? What if that's how these jokers get around down here? There are way too many traps, too many pit falls and poisoned doors, for them to be using these tunnels, no matter how skilled they are. They must have a network of other tunnels, hidden from detection, that they use."

You're saying this entire complex is one big trap? Rumiko shook her head, that can't be true. It is too obvious that they are making use of these spaces.

"But not all of them," Kuma muttered. "Juubei's right, the traps are too frequent."

"They're also grouped. Sure, the entrances to the various chambers are all trapped, and the tunnels leading between them, but not the rooms themselves. Which suggests to me that they use the chambers, and have side passages."

"I haven't detected anything," Kuma muttered, "they'd have to be very well hidden."

"Remember who's house this is," Juubei told him. "The Serpent's old, wily, and very good at convincing others to do his dirty work. If he doesn't know how to create passages like I'm thinking are hidden here, he could surely find and coerce or corrupt someone who can. But that means we have a serious problem. How are we going to find Yohko without Mitsumi?"

"Backtrack," Kuma suggested, "follow the other's route?"

"No, we'd loose too much time. If we pick a room and tear it apart, do you think you could find these tunnels?"

"If they're actually there," Kuma agreed, then shook his head, "but not quickly. We've got a time constraint, remember?"

Already too late for that, Rumiko pointed out, then pointed back up the passage.

Leaning back against the wall, just on the near side of the last turn, knee bent to put one foot on the wall, head hanging, was Shikamaru. "You kids are a real pain, you know that?"

Juubei tensed, kunai coming forward, left hand going back for his bladed-knuckles, while behind him Kuma shifted sideways, partially blocking Rumiko, but also opening the spacing between all three of them. "Nara-san," he said aloud, "we weren't aware you were in the area."

"Tche, you mean you weren't aware we were this close behind you. Are you going to relax, or am I going to have to relax you?"

"That depends on you, Nara-san."

Shikamaru sighed heavily, "Kami-sama, I told your friend, Nara-san is my father. Shikamaru'll do. And since when to Genin back-talk Jounin?"

"Since we're missing-nin on a mission," Juubei replied, then grinned slightly and finished, "Nara-san."

That actually got the Jounin to look up and give him a half-hearted glare. "You're no missing-nin, just an over-eager kid who ought to know better. Relax, now. Put the weapons away, and we'll talk. I'll need your report on everything you've done here, in order to figure out how best to get the three of you out of here, in addition to Iraisen. But I'm not willing to sit here in an armed stand-off while we do it."

"Since we have no proof you're who you claim to be, and we know for a fact that Akatsuki's here and very good at genjutsu, we won't be letting our guard down any time soon," Juubei replied. "You'll need more than names and a good imitation to convince me you're from Konoha."

Shikamaru sighed again, then shoved off the wall lightly and turned to face them, shaking his head slowly. A movement behind him resolved rapidly into another person that Juubei recognized a moment later as Akamichi Chouji, blocking the hallway. A slight gesture directed Kuma's attention there, before Shikamaru muttered, "You kids are really paranoid. Good, I guess, but really troublesome at the moment."

Juubei glared at him. He could tell the older shinobi was going to try something, and began shifting sideways, to open the spacing between him and Juubei more. Except, he could not move, and after a second, his eyes widened in realization. _Damn it!_ He swore at himself, _Yohko told us how fast he is. Why the hell didn't I remember that?_ He felt his hands opening, and struggled against it, but before he could break the binding, his weapons clattered to the floor, and he heard Rumiko's doing the same behind him.

A moment later, just as Juubei started to get his right hand to move around towards his weapon pouch, someone moved up from behind him, and a massive hand slammed down on his right shoulder, hard enough to stagger him. "That's enough, Shikamaru. They're no danger now."

"Tche, they were no danger to begin with, Jiraiya. Just troublesome."

"I beg to differ, if the fact that he's reaching for his weapon now despite your Kagemane is any indication."

Shikamaru blinked, then shook his head and muttered something underneath his breath. A moment later, Juubei felt the sudden shift of his balance, as the force he was struggling against vanished. He rolled out from under the restraining grip on his shoulder, slamming up against the passage wall and whipping out another pair of kunai, but before he could bring the around, he felt his own bladed knuckles pressed against his throat. He froze, blinking in surprise at how fast the move had been.

Staring at him from arms length was an old man, about Kuma's size, with a massive head of white hair, a heavy forehead protector, and a grin that was halfway between Mitsumi's manic insanity and Kakashi's lazy amusement. "You're fast, kid, but the three of you aren't up to taking on the four of us." At Juubei's blink, the old man jerked his head sideways, and Juubei risked a glance, to see the unmistakable figure of Uzumaki Naruto standing behind Rumiko. The fact that his left half appeared to be merged with the stone wall of the tunnel was only slightly disconcerting. "Relax," the old man told him again, "we're not Akatsuki, and we don't work for the Serpent. Though I know him pretty well. Taught him that trick with the tunnels, too, the ungrateful thief."

"Jiraiya," Kuma muttered, "of the Sanin, childhood teammate of the Godaime Hokage, teacher of the Yondaime Hokage. I think we can relax, Juubei."

Juubei nodded, letting his muscles go slack. The old man held the blade against his throat a moment longer, then pulled it back and slipped it off his fingers. Instead of returning it, however, he inspected it for a moment. "Ah, these are pretty sharp," he commented, "remind me of Asuma's blades. That where you got them from?"

"Yeah, sort of," Juubei admitted. "Saw him buying a set in a weapon shop, decided they looked useful."

"Nice and sharp. You might want to think about cleaning them, though. There's still blood on them."

"Recent use," Juubei muttered, holding out a hand for the blade. Jiraiya studied him over the blade for a moment, amusement obviously growing, then shrugged and handed the weapon back.

"So," Shikamaru asked, "You going to tell me what you think you're doing down here, or am I going to have to drag you back to Konoha and hand you over the Morino first?"

Morino-san's a teddy-bear, Rumiko signed, which caused Shikamaru and Jiraiya to snort in suppressed laughter.

"Don't laugh," Juubei replied, "Rumiko could wrap him around her little finger, if he gives her half a chance. We'll talk, but I'm afraid we just ran out of fresh information."

It only took him a few minutes to run through everything they had discovered since entering the caverns, even the fight with Gassari did not take long to explain. Jiraiya seemed especially interested in how Rumiko found him through the genjutsu, but either his facility with her sign-language was poorer than he thought, or she did not know the terminology he was used to, because he could not make heads or tails of her explanation.

Once the 'debrief' was over, Shikamaru pulled his team aside for a whispered conversation. While they were doing that, Juubei pulled Kuma and Rumiko in close for one of their own. "Can you find the secret tunnels now, Kuma?"

Probably, Kuma replied silently, now that I've seen one.

"If they try and force us to go back now, I'll keep them busy, you two go for Yohko."

Not a good idea, Rumiko argued, better to wait until they split up, then disable one and come back as a group.

"We don't know they'll split up take us back. If they do, we'll try it your way. If not, we do it mine."

The other two nodded agreement. When the other huddle broke up, however, Shikamaru just waved them over. "Right, you three. My mission is to retrieve Iraisen, not you. But I'm not prepared to leave you wandering about this death-trap unsupervised, and I can't justify splitting up my team to nursemaid the three of you back to the surface. So, you three Genin are now under my command for the duration of this mission. Understood?"

Juubei was, to say the least, surprised. "Understood, Nara-san, though I'm not sure why?"

"Right, first order is, you call me 'Nara-san' again and I tell Ino you said she's uglier than Akamaru. I guarantee you'll be begging for Akatsuki's tender mercies before she's finished. As to why... I helped train Iraisen, so I've got a fair idea what you kids are capable of. Then there's the fact that you've gotten this far on your own, despite at least one semi-competent opponent. Combined, those two facts make me fairly confident you can look after yourselves, so long as you've got me and my team to handle the heavy hitters."

"We can handle anything Akatsuki throws at us," Juubei countered.

"Don't be arrogant. You got Gassari because he was playing around with you. You won't do so well against Tetsuo, as he proved in capturing Iraisen in the first place, or against Orochimaru himself, if he's actually here and not just a figment of your imaginations. No, you Genin are coming along because I can't spare anyone from my team to ride heard on you. If we wind up in a fight, stay back, protect yourselves, and keep an eye on the exits. My team will handle the fighting, you concentrate on keeping each other safe. Understood?"

Juubei nodded, catching Kuma repeating the gesture out of the corner of his eye. "Understood, sir." _Of course, you didn't say anything about not rescuing Yohko, now did you?_

------------------------------

_We should stop and meet them,_ Hinata suggested. _Better on our terms than on Akatsuki's._

_Better to get the job done first,_ Mitsumi countered. _They're just going to try and drag us back to Konoha before we can finish._

Raiden wished he could argue with either of them, but as far as he could tell, they were both right. Unfortunately, as usual, their opposite opinions needed his vote to break the tie. "We keep going," he decided, pulling in the energy for a thunderbolt. "Hinata, you and Mitsumi keep going, I'll bring the ceiling down behind us."

"Now what good would that do?" Kakashi's voice ahead of them was a surprise, almost causing Raiden to loose his half-formed thunderbolt. Akatsuki had tried this trick with them once already, however, and his reaction was far from hesitant. He spun in place, shouting a mental warning to Mitsumi to duck, and instead of throwing the 'bolt at the ceiling, he finished it fast and threw it down the passage at the figure standing at the next turn.

The scarecrow figure took the thunderbolt full in the chest, and vanished in the resultant explosion. The blast also filled the passage with dust, and cracked the ceiling, causing rocks to begin raining down in a growing roar.

Grabbing Hinata's arm as she coughed in the dust, Raiden shouted, "Keep going!"

_It was a kage bunshin,_ Mitsumi told him, _don't know how it got there, but it wasn't actually him._

_Doesn't matter,_ Raiden replied, _I'm still bringing the roof down behind us._

_It's already down ahead of us,_ Mitsumi told him, _I'm around the corner and it looks like your shot was the last straw on a collapsing passage._

"Mah, you kids sure do make a lot of noise," Kakashi commented, strolling down the tunnel behind them.

Raiden spun in place, reaching for another thunderbolt, but Hinata's outstretched hand stopped him. _We are already stuck with them, do not antagonize them now._ "Kakashi-sensei," Hinata said slowly, "You are here to bring us back?"

He shrugged, "Mah, could be. On the other hand, our orders were to keep an eye on you kids while you cleaned out some tunnels, ne?" He looked around slowly, and a patently false look of surprise came over him, "why, I do believe we are in tunnels now, aren't we? Though… it's been a long day, I could be confused."

"Tche, you're up to something, one-eye," Mitsumi muttered from behind Raiden, "and Ba-chan's gotta get rid of that hickey 'fore she'll be able to sneak up on us, even with you playing distraction." _She's just to his right, crawling along the ceiling. They're real, this time, no clones or imitators, I don't think._

Raiden left Kakashi for Hinata to handle, and looked up, "What are you planning, Anko?"

She faded into view, "We were thinking we'd beat the crap out of you three and drag you back. Then we realized that, in all the tumult, someone's collapsed half the passageways back there. Plus, I want to see the old snake as badly as you do, and I think you can take care of yourselves while Kakashi and I deal with him, ne?"

"Tche, you could never beat him before, Ba-chan."

"Urusai, chibi-ko," Anko shot back, dropping lightly to the floor. "I take it you managed to block the passage ahead, as well?"

"Apparently," Raiden answered her. He really did not trust that they were telling the truth, and just knew that as soon as he relaxed the two Jounin would overpower them and drag them back to Konoha, mission incomplete. But, there was nothing else to try, so he stepped back, and waved them forward. "Unless you know of another way past, I am afraid we are limited in options."

"Shinobi always have options, gaki," Anko snapped back, slapping him upside the head as she walked past. She studied the collapsed rocks for a few moments, climbing over the lower ones to study the ceiling and walls, then shook her head, turning to sit on the boulder she had been standing on. "No good. Whole thing's unstable. If we dig it out, we'll just bring more rock down on ourselves. Looks like you kids finally triggered a trap you couldn't bull your way past."

"Kuma could," Raiden told her, "even with the collapse. But with luck, he's on his way out with Yohko by now."

"Shikamaru went after them," Hinata reminded him. "If they encountered Akatsuki as we did, they may be fighting, thinking Shikamaru is the enemy."

Raiden nodded, setting aside the twisting sensation of worry that comment caused, and the echo of it he could feel from Mitsumi and Hinata. "We'll deal with that as we must," he said aloud.

"Regardless, that doesn't help us here," Anko said, "suppose we'll have to try those side passages Kakashi found."

The three of them blinked, simultaneously asking, mentally and verbally, "Side tunnels?"

Anko and Kakashi chuckled, then he tapped his hitae-ate. "Sharingan can see a lot of things, even if there's no active chakra in them. There are routes through the rocks, worked by ninjutsu. Stone shinobi used to use them a lot during the war, in prepared areas, to surprise enemies. We figured out how to find the routes eventually, and," he spread one hand over his chest and leaned forward in a sketchy bow, "some of us figured out how to use them."

"What're we waiting for then?" Mitsumi stalked past Raiden and started pushing Kakashi back up the tunnel. "Come on, come on, show us where these passages are so we can get down there. The damn Serpent might be getting away while your blathering on about what a glorious ninja you are, you know!"

Kakashi chuckled, and let her push him down the hall. Raiden and Hinata fell in behind Mitsumi, and Anko took rear post. _I don't trust this,_ Raiden told the other two. _Why are they going along with this?_

_Under the Serpent's spell,_ Mitsumi opined, _trying to lull us into a false sense of security. Otherwise they'd be yelling at us already._

_Or perhaps they speak the truth, and the only way out is further in,_ Hinata countered. _They will not berate us here, for we are in enemy territory and under threat. I believe they wish to find out if we are correct, that the Serpent truly is here. Personally, I will welcome their assistance when we come against him. We still do not know how to bring on the merge._

_I agree we can use the help, but at the same time, we can't trust it. We'll have to keep an eye on them,_ Raiden decided, _Mitsumi, keep lookout, Hinata, watch Anko. I'll keep an eye on Kakashi. Let's just hope I'm being overly paranoid again._

------------------------------

Yohko grunted once, as her arms were pulled tight. They were bound together by the clever expedient of lacing her fingers with inter-woven straps, which prevented her from forming seals, and forced her to keep her fingers bent tight against those straps, unless she wanted them ripped out. A loop of leather between her hands caught the straps, then tied off to a chain over her head. Tetsuo had just finished pulling the chain tight enough to force her to her tip-toes, though that was made easier by the steel clamps locking her legs together at knees and ankles. The straps also forced her to maintain a tight grip with both hands, or risk having her fingers ripped out, as they were carrying all her weight.

All in all, she was quite impressed. If she had needed to form seals to perform techniques, she would have been quite securely restrained but easily carried about, as Tetsuo has demonstrated by bringing her here. She filed the method away, along with the other restraining methods used on her here, for future use on the Guardian's enemies.

'Here' was a rather substantial cavern, easily as far across as the Chunin exam arena, though it was only about a third that locale's height. There were four tunnels leading into the room that she could see, two from up high in one wall, without any obvious route down, and two more from floor level in the same wall. A narrow river flowed through along the opposite wall, forming the base of the chamber's long oval shape. She was suspended from an iron ring set into the top of a stalagmite, a few meters from the river. A single boat was tied to the same piece of rock by a single rope, which told her this was the Serpent's escape route.

"I've got to say," Tetsuo commented as he finished securing the chain, "I'm impressed you stood up to the Master so well. I mean, sure he's only had a couple days to work on you, but a few days of Tsukiyomi had Kisame bawling like a little lost lamb. Noriko was worse. But you, a little slip of nothing... you didn't even scream once."

Yohko cocked her head at him, quirking an eyebrow. If he wanted to talk, She was perfectly willing to let him. She had no need to explain herself or her unique nature to someone she confidently expected to see dead shortly, and he would probably reveal something, as he had in the past. Tetsuo gave her a couple moments to respond, then chuckled and reached out to ruffle her hair. "Good girl, never give anything away for free. It'll be interesting to see what you're like in a few years, if you live that long. Still, I am curious as to how you withstood the Tsukiyomi."

"The ssseal on her hand," Orochimaru hissed, gliding into the chamber. "Thanksss to it, ssshe knowsss herssself too well to sssucumb easssily to my Tsssukiyomi."

Tetsuo straightened, turning and bowing low, never once looking at the man as he slinked across the chamber. Yohko studied Orochimaru for a moment, taking in the long lank hair, the silt-pupiled golden eyes, the sickly-pale skin, and the all-black version of Konoha's Jounin uniform. She had seen the man several times, but never in light this good, and for the most part, she was just as disappointed as she had been since he finished their first 'session'. She had learned quite a lot about him over the span of her captivity, almost as much as he had learned of her, and while he was just as skilled, smart and dangerous as she had expected, he lacked a certain… presence. He was nowhere near as big, vicious, or violently insane as she had expected. This time, it was the way he walked which caught her attention. "You walk like a girl," she commented. "Tell me, can your soul-transference technique possess a female body, or must it be male?"

Orochimaru laughed softly, gliding across the chamber, "I have not thought on it, my new apprentiicsse. Perhapsss Tetsssuo ssshould exsspriment?"

Without rising from the boy, Tetsuo replied, "I would prefer not, Master. I have no wish to live forever."

"Do not lie to me, Tetssuo," Orochimaru said, though he gave his subordinate a superior smile. "Rissse, Tetsssuo, we ssstand on the cusssp of battle, and I cannot have my ssstrong right hand weakened by ffform and tradition."

Tetsuo straightened, then returned to checking Yohko's restraints, inquiring, "I am still concerned, Master. I had expected Anko and Gassari would at least kill off one apiece, and I do not like having the traitor loose in the caves at the same time."

"Gasssari failed to heed my warningsss, and the healer girl hasss learned the technique for ssseeing through genjutsu. Ssshe, too, would be resssissstant to my Tsssukiyomi, though for different reasssonsss than my new apprentiicsse. You sssaw what happened to Anko. My Apprenticsse will not trouble usss jussst yet. He will wait, until he knowsss who will win the battle, and choossse hisss ssside then."

"Have the Konoha shinobi linked up with the kids?"

"Yesss, both teamsss. I have collapsssed ssseveral tunnelsss, to arrange for our guessstsss to arrive all at oncesss."

"Hopefully they'll get in each other's way," Tetsuo commented.

Yohko wanted to shake her head, and had to deliberately force herself not to correct Tetsuo. She knew her sibs, and they would not get in each other's ways. They would go for the Serpent as a united whole. Whoever was coming with them would not have a chance to interfere.

_Not yet,_ she decided, _wait for the others to arrive, for the Serpent to be distracted. I can break free then._ She had been tempted, several times in the span of her captivity, to show Orochimaru the folly of using genjutsu to try and break her. Tenjin's Mirror would have, at the very least, broken Tsukiyomi and saved her several unpleasant subjective-weeks enduring Orochimaru's hallucinatory torture. But it would have revealed that, however well designed her cell's defenses, they were not perfect. It would also have been useless defiance, as those imperfect defenses would have more than sufficed to leave her vulnerable, draining her too quickly and confining her options. She would not have been able to use Tenjin's Mirror, break her chains, and then use Tenjin's Maze, not in anything like a reasonable time-frame. She was not even sure if Tenjin's Maze would hold a mind as strong and subtle as Orochimaru's. Sure, it worked well on her siblings and other Genin and Chunin level opponents, but she had yet to try it on any Jounin, and was unwilling to risk having it turned back on her.

She managed to make herself wait, to endure through analysis of increasingly ridiculous details. She kept her secret, and hoped he had not learned that the Guardians needed no seals to shape their chakra. Now she waited still, confident that her siblings would finally arrive soon, and that when they did, she would free herself and join them in destroying their shared nightmare.

She just wished they had gotten here sooner. Misleading Orochimaru was getting boring.


	32. 31 Confrontation & Combat

**Rise of the Guardians**

By Daishi Prime

- 31 – Confrontation & Combat -

The hidden passages gave out in time to a short series of un-trapped tunnels so deep in the mountainside that Raiden wondered if they were approaching magma levels, or perhaps the back side of the mountains. Natural heat was certainly more prevalent here, and the walls damp with humidity. The rushing sound of water told him the tunnels lead to a river nearby, but the way the sound echoed made it difficult to determine how far away it was or in which direction.

Raiden approached the end of the last tunnel with more than a little trepidation. Kakashi and Anko were in the lead, but Mitsumi was right behind them, relaying everything she could see, and what she could see was disturbing enough to bother Kakashi, let alone the rest of them.

She reported three chakra signatures already in the chamber beyond. One was quite obviously Yohko, though she was apparently being depressed or drained somehow. Another was Tetsuo, prowling about the center of the chamber. The third was probably the Serpent himself, standing beside Yohko, doing Kami-knew-what. Worse, the traitor's signature was nearby, closing as rapidly as they. The only good news was that Shikamaru's team, with Juubei and the rest in tow, would probably reach the chamber at the same time they did.

So they would have a numbers advantage – eleven of them against two hostiles, one prisoner, and one untrustworthy traitor. By shinobi standards, it was a ridiculous number of fighters, even against someone as old and wily as Orochimaru. The final battle with Akatsuki, a year gone, was of outright epic scale – some fifty Jounin level and higher combatants, all told, but fifteen shinobi in a single battle was still a huge number. So why was that 'old and Wiley' shinobi, by all accounts the most skilled and dangerous member of his generation, just calmly waiting there for superior numbers (including several shinobi who had proven their own greatness before, and one of his old teammates and equals) to hand him his head?

"Hold here," Kakashi ordered, ghosting to a halt and crouching, "Mitsumi, let me know when the others are about as far away. We'll go in together."

"Can't be sure they're going into the same chamber we are," Mitsumi countered.

Kakashi just looked back over his shoulder, grinning through his mask at her.

"We know that," Anko muttered, leaning against the wall, "but better to try for a unified assault, ne?"

"Fine, fine," Mitsumi muttered, "I'd guess about... twenty seconds, maybe a bit more. Hard to tell, since I can't really see the rocks, remember?"

"Then we wait thirty seconds," Kakashi said.

"Remember," Anko told them for the fifth or sixth time, "when we go in, your sole responsibility is to get Yohko out of there, once we free her. Kakashi and I will get her, then you three take her and run. You aren't up to taking on Orochimaru."

Raiden just shrugged, as did Mitsumi, though Hinata nodded agreement. They had heard it before, and he was fairly confident they would hear it again. But he knew she was wrong, they had two options that should allow them to defeat the Serpent, if they had time to use them. He just hoped the first worked.

They were moving again a half-minute later, ghosting down the tunnel, senses stretched to find traps and enemies, but none appeared. They passed through several more twists in the passage before the open chamber came into view. It was plainly better lit than the tunnels, with the slowly wavering light of a great number of torches, and equally obviously the largest chamber they had yet found in the complex. Most of their view was, however, blocked by the ledge their cave let out onto.

"Welcome, boys and girls," Tetsuo's voice drifted up to them from below the ledge, "you're a little later than we expected, but the Master is quite patient. Why don't all eleven of you come on out where we can see you? It'd be polite to introduce yourselves to the Master of the house, ne?"

Kakashi and Anko had paused at the tunnel entrance when Tetsuo spoke, Mitsumi and Hinata pausing behind them. Bringing up the rear, Raiden merely kept walking, right to the edge of the narrow ledge. He was fairly certain Anko or Kakashi would have tried to stop him, but by then Tetsuo's invitation had been made, so they merely joined him. A movement to his left drew Raiden's eye, and he saw both Juubei's team, and Shikamaru and his team, stepping onto another ledge, a meter or so higher and some twenty meters away.

The rest of the cavern was plain enough to be worrisome. It was apparently natural in origin, as attested by the river along the far wall, that looked to be fast, cold, and deep. _Probably feeds the Tora,_ he thought, _that's subterranean as well, for a ways._ The floor of the cave was smooth but uneven, and he could see where several stalagmites had been removed, though a number had been left along the river's edge. One of those had Yohko tied to it, which was annoying but ignorable for the moment.

Tetsuo was standing next to that pillar, farther from his prisoner than Raiden would have stood, but then the missing-nin had already proven that he was faster than any of the Guardians. He was wearing his robes again, only his head visible above the red-daubed black, and the smirk on his face was far more annoying than Yohko's predicament.

The figure that took most of Raiden's attention, however, was standing much further away, perfectly balanced atop a stalagmite, smiling slightly at them. He was average height, and appeared a little overweight, though that could have been due to the massive brown rope belt coiled about his middle, knotted over his belly with the ends hanging down in front of him. His other clothes consisted of simple pants and an off-white tunic, and even part of those were hidden by the almost floor-length black hair that hid his face. Despite that, the golden eyes of the Serpent were quite clear.

"Orochimaru," Jiraiya was the first to speak, "I confess, I had believed you finally dead and gone."

The Serpent chuckled, the harsh staccato sound rattling through the room. "You alwaysss were a fool, Jiraiya. Essspecially for bringing children into such a dangerousss conditionsss. They are sssuch... easssy victimsss."

Watching the Serpent or not, Raiden saw him shift slightly, felt the focus of the old man's attention and intent rolling out, and let it wash right over him. The sudden tensing of everyone around him was confusing for a moment, until he recognized the fear coming through the link from Mitsumi and Hinata, and realized what they were going through. It was not overwhelming, and would not interfere with their ability to function to any great extent, but it would give yet another advantage to Orochimaru.

"You're going to need more than intent to stop us, Serpent," Raiden called out, shifting partially into a combat stance to get the Serpent's attention.

"Oh-ho, you are jussst asss impresssive asss your sssissster'sss recollectionsss," Orochimaru commented, focusing all his killing intent on Raiden. "But all living thingsss fear death."

Raiden recognized the sensation, let it slide over him, and matched it with a grin as he peeled the glove off his right hand. "You're wrong, we do not fear death. We, as do all people, you included, fear what they do not know," he answered the old man, holding up his now-bare hand in a fist, back to Orochimaru, "but I have stood face to face with Shinigami himself, and bargained well. I know what awaits me beyond death. You, however... you have spent decades fleeing it with all your skill. Which makes you the vulnerable one here."

Orochimaru laughed again, somewhat more softly, "You may know death, boy, but there are worse things that can be done to you."

"And we know all of them," Juubei commented from the other ledge.

"We will give you the opportunity to surrender, Orochimaru," Anko offered. "Who knows, if you cooperate with the Hokage's questions, you might even be allowed an easy death."

"Or I could take my seven prizssesss and depart in peacsse."

"You don't really think we'll let you have the kids, do you?"

"No, Anko-chan, I never did teach you to give up. But I know sssomething you do not," his small smile was now a blatant smirk, "sssomething that will turn thisss battle well in my favor."

"Shikamaru, get the younger generation out of here," Jiraiya ordered, "Naruto, Kakashi, Anko and I will handle Orochimaru."

"Oh, but where isss your sssenssse of hossspitality, Jiraiya-kun," Orochimaru hissed, "sssending away the guessstsss of honor before the csselebration truly beginsss."

Jiraiya merely shook his head, "no games, old friend. I'm getting tired of killing you, but I'll do it as often as I have to."

"A pity you learned nothing from thossse attemptsss." Orochimaru was visibly amused now, and waved softly, "Tetsssuo."

The last Akatsuki's voice rang out clear, in sharp chorus with the Serpents, "Kuchiyose: Worldly Resurrection of Four!" A moment later, four coffins slammed out of the ceiling above, showering the chamber with debris and dust. They slammed down in an arc in front of Tetsuo, who vanished in a puff of smoke, as did Orochimaru. A moment later the two reappeared, having swapped positions, and Tetsuo leapt to intercept Jiraiya's charge.

Raiden would have joined in, but Anko waved them back. The Sanin and Akatsuki slammed together in mid-air, both of them bouncing back hard. Jiraiya hit the ground on his feet, sandals digging twin furrows in the stone, then lunged forward again, only to be intercepted short of Orochimaru once more. It was immediately clear that Tetsuo was not fighting, so much as buying time, and a few seconds later, Jiraiya ceased his attempts as the four coffins exploded.

When the smoke and debris cleared, Orochimaru was surrounded by four figures, all shrouded in the red-touched black cloaks of Akatsuki. Only one looked remotely normal, though his long blonde hair was pulled back to reveal a maniacal face. Another was hidden in the shadows of two great protrusions that reminded Raiden of alligator's jaws, while the third was hidden deep within shifting shadows. The last man, standing on the near end, was a great surprise, however.

"I wasn't aware Kisame had died in captivity," Kakashi remarked, "Ibiki must be slipping up in his old age."

Orochimaru and Tetsuo chuckled, and the younger man answered, "oh, Kisame was alive. Until about thirty seconds ago. Master has improved the technique, to the point where he no longer requires the summoned slave to be dead first. All he needs is a bit of blood. I'm afraid Ibiki-san is now questioning a corpse, and wondering how it happened. Not that he'll ever find out."

Raiden looked over the four members of Akatsuki, and knew in that moment that there was no way to win clear to his target. At best, they could get Yohko out of here, now, and even that was doubtful. Part of him wanted to curl up and cry, seeing again the monsters who had destroyed his family. But he was no longer a child, no longer defenseless, and he had one option left, one trick. The problem was going to be getting the time to use it.

He stepped forward, right to the edge of the ledge between Anko and Kakashi, simultaneously closing off the link as tightly as he could. "Kakashi, Anko-sensei," he said, speaking softly and hoping no one but those two would hear him. "I need thirty seconds, no more, and this fight will be over. But I need those thirty seconds."

They both glanced at him out of the corner of their eyes. Jiraiya and Naruto were shouting over one another, but he tuned them out. Anko was the first to ask, "What are you going to try?"

"There's one thing we all agreed never to do," he whispered, "because we have no idea what it will do, and there is no coming back. But what we do know is that it will give me the power to end this fight in moments. Thirty seconds, that's all I need."

"Don't kamikaze on me now," Anko hissed, "We can..."

"Thirty seconds," Raiden repeated. "I'm doing this, Anko-sensei. It's the only way to do this without all of you dying. One life sacrificed to save many. I'm not pulling a kamikaze," he felt his lip curl in a sneer as his studying gaze rested on the Serpent, "I'm pulling a martyr. And you can't stop me without killing me yourself."

"It'll be hard," Kakashi replied, "those four weren't the strongest in Akatsuki, except the Leader, but they're as they were in their prime. I barely defeated Kisame once. If they decide to go for you while you building whatever it is..."

"I don't want you to keep them off me," Raiden answered, shifting his sneer to the summoned dead. "I need you to keep my siblings from stopping me."

That got him full on stares from both teachers. For a few seconds, they remained that way, the two of them looking at him, while he and Orochimaru stared at one another across a few tens of meters. He knew what they were thinking, that they were debating trying to stop him themselves, but it made too much sense. Their current forces, their current opposition... and yet another of Yohko's non-prophecies.

"Thirty seconds," Anko agreed after a few moments, sighing heavily.

Raiden nodded, then felt one of the others jerk at the link. Glancing back, he saw that Hinata was frowning at him, so he opened the link slightly, _Sorry, too focused. What was it?_

_When do we go after Yohko?_

Raiden looked over at their captive sibling, checking positions again as he did, and studied her bindings for a moment. Then he shook his head, _it would take too long to work her loose. We can't afford to be that close to Akatsuki and not give them our full attention. _ Aloud, he said, "Wait until we've thinned out the enemy before trying to get her free."

Anko glanced at him, then asked, "What if one of them tries to kill her?"

"Then we stop them," he shrugged, "but we can't afford to get distracted getting her free. For now," he raised his voice from the conversational whisper, declaring, "I'm tired of listening to a pair of old has-beens blustering at each other. Let's just kill the old fool and move on."

Jiraiya burst out laughing, but Orochimaru only gave him a dismissively insulted look.

"Well, Shikamaru?" Naruto was grinning at his friend, "You going to let a kid show you up?"

Squatting on the edge of the left hand ledge, Shikamaru just hung his head for a moment. "The _girl_'s our mission, not this crap. But, we've gotta go through him to get her, so... Chouji, back me up. Naruto, pick your target and don't hold back. Jiraiya, keep the serpent busy. The rest of you, stay out of our way."  
The three shinobi still on the ledge charged into the attack, and Raiden let them fade from his attention, along with their opponents. Instead, he focused on calling forth his chakra, shaping it carefully.

"Let's go, gaki," Anko ordered, "I'll take Tetsuo. Kakashi, take Kisame. Gaki, back us up." She leapt into the fray, Kakashi a moment behind her, and Raiden leapt as well, feeling more than seeing Hinata and Mitsumi go past him. Instead of a leap, however, he tumbled straight down, landing in a crouch.

What he was trying now was something they had only ever theorized. It would take every bit of chakra he could handle, more even than Mitsumi's 'Become the Flame' technique. Pulling it in, he began focusing all of it through the Seal, channeling power so fast that it began to burn. He could feel the Seal opening, feel the power flowing from and into it begin to increase, and tried to prepare himself for anything and everything. An unutterable cold began to spread up his arm, and he had a terrifying sense of absolute finality waiting just beyond the Seal that was almost enough to make him forget the whole idea.

Tetsuo's fist crashing into his jaw broke his concentration, and sent him sprawling over the hard stone floor. The opening Seal slammed shut in a wrench far more painful than the physical blow, and all the chakra he had concentrated released at once. The blast was almost soundless, merely a wave of power, that nonetheless picked him up and slammed him against the cave wall. He felt some of his ribs cracked, felt the stabbing pain of breathing added to the duller pain of the bruises, but above all that, he felt an growing rage.

So damn close, he snarled mentally. The combination of impact, failed technique and chakra explosion left him too stunned to move, but he could see Tetsuo rolling to his feet and back to the attack. He could see out of the corner of his eye that Anko was struggling against a shadowed figure, the last leader of Akatsuki, but Tetsuo filled his vision, right fist streaking forward, aiming low for a crippling blow, rather than fatal.

Only to slam to a stop, caught in another's hand.

_God, I'm so getting tired of surprises,_ Raiden thought, managing to pull his focus back enough to see Uchiha Sasuke standing over him.

"You're pathetic, kid," Sasuke informed him with a smirk. "Beaten by a fake and an upstart. You keep getting in over your head, thinking you're better than you are. I've had to save you twice now." He wrenched around, pulling Tetsuo closer, then let go and completed his spin by slamming a kick into the off-balance shinobi's side, sending him tumbling again.

"Bite me, traitor," Raiden snarled back, though it came out thin and whispery, since he could not seem to draw a full breath.

"Traitor twice over," Tetsuo commented loudly, rolling unevenly to his feet again. "Damn, I'd been hoping for a chance to go up against you. Do you have any idea how much damage you did? You were the Master's oldest apprentice, and you abandoned him."

Raiden felt something tug in his memory at that, but Sasuke merely shrugged oddly. "What can I say? I'd learned all I could from him. Now, I know enough to be dangerous to him, so he needs to kill me. So, to keep myself alive, and win free of Konoha, I need to kill him." The Uchiha gave another slight shrug, indicating his total unconcern with the subject. He glanced at Raiden, "Finish your jutsu, kid. I'll handle the upstart. Should be easy, since I severed the nerves to his left leg."

"You stole his most prized possession," Tetsuo rumbled, smiling back at Sasuke, "which, by they way, I've always admired you for. Took a real set of balls to do that, _Yakushi Kabuto_."

------------------------------

Hinata was at first entirely focused on Kisame. She and Mitsumi were following Kakashi-sensei for the simple reason that they were fairly confident they could keep up with Kisame. They had beaten him once, after all. She was so focused, and Mitsumi with her, that at first she did not notice that Raiden had not followed them in. The two of them had the same thoughtless coordination they had become used to, and Kakashi-sensei was living up to his reputation.

She only noticed when there was a flash of pain in her face when no attack even came close to her. Spinning away from Kisame to get her balance, she finally realized Raiden was off on his own. She watched the technique he had been building crumble, but she could not recognize it from its remnants. She saw Sasuke plummet from concealment on the ceiling to intercept Tetsuo's attack, saw Anko picking herself up out of a wall.

Mitsumi arrived at her side. _What in all the hells is he doing over there?_

Hinata glanced at her, then at Raiden, wondering why Mitsumi had asked her that. Then she realized that, stunned or not, Raiden was maintaining a block on the link, closing them out. _I don't know,_ she replied, _but it appears he doesn't want us to know what it is. Why would he do that now, with..._

Her thought was cutoff by a burst of emotion from Mitsumi, a flash of fear, rage and... panic? It was followed almost immediately by her shouted, "Raiden, you motherless bastard! Don't you dare!"

Mitsumi charged across the cavern, but was cut off by a flying Kakashi, dodging Kisame's massive chakra-sword. The Akatsuki charged after the Copy-Nin, and Mitsumi had to duck back from a back-handed blow, and then the two older shinobi were carrying on their duel right in front of her. Mitsumi had to duck back, countering Kisame's blows by weaving amongst them.

Hinata gave over worrying about Raiden, Mitsumi was in greater danger. She wanted to break through the block, find out what was happening, but she could not spare the attention. Even trying to reach Mitsumi through the link was suddenly difficult, as she was truly panicking, on the verge of utter breakdown, but Hinata could not for the life of her figure out why. Then she had no more attention to spare, as she was caught up in the fray against Kisame.

She managed to break Mitsumi free by the simple expedient of tackling her and tumbling out of Kisame's reach, just as Kakashi moved to the attack. She came up in a crouch, holding a struggling Mitsumi, and half-shouted, "What's wrong, Mitsumi?! Calm down and tell me!"

Mitsumi's answer was to lunge free and resume her interrupted charge, shouting, "He's going to kill himself!"

Hinata was only a step behind her, and saw the chakra swirling about Raiden's hands, concentrating in his left palm, tendrils leading to his right. The structure of it teased at her memory, and she could almost call up from their shared memories what he was doing. But she was distracted again, as he completed the jutsu and slammed his left fist, covered in a chakra spike, into his right palm, lancing through the seal. Something flashed towards her, and she had to tackle Mitsumi again to get her out of the line of its attack.

She looked up again in time to see the tip of sword, held in a long pinkish red tentacle, slam into Raiden's chest hard enough to pin him to the wall. She felt it herself, the icy burning agony of impact, the ripping sensation of her heart tearing itself apart around the razor-sharp sword edge, and the sudden limpness of shock. She was vaguely aware of a rising keening sound, of someone shrieking in her ear, but only one thing came through clearly.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu," Raiden gasped, glaring past her at their oldest enemy, "Assumption... of... Aspect."

------------------------------

GeshronTyler: Sorry for the long-delayed response, this chapter's been giving me fits (and still isn't right, but I'm tired of it). I'm also sorry you're coming to this late – there's only a couple more chapters to go. As for specific concerns, I'll take 'em in order:) Hanabi's 'Kage Bunshin' was an error-by-ignorance on my part – she uses Naruto's technique, which is Taju (Tajuu?) Kage Bunshin, or _Mass _Shadow Clone. Still draining, but giving better numbers than the basic Kage Bunshin. The driving facet of Mitsumi's character has always been her temper, and her association with fire, though admittedly, her 'Become the Flame' technique was simply her attempt to take her fire affinity as far as possible – team considerations were distinctly secondar (at least to her). But you're right, her temper alone keeps her from Chunin rank. Yohko is worse than Shikamaru, which is a real pain for me – she's smarter than I am, which makes all sorts of problems writing her when she's on her own. I'm aware the match between Raiden & Mitsumi was more emotional than usual, but it was both an experiment for me, and the best response I could come up with. Raiden's explanation was the literal truth – if I'd had the two of them fight, I couldn't figure out how to not have one kill the other, since neither of them knows how to quit. Which is also part of their problem accepting help – all six of them have relied only on themselves for so long they can't trust anyone else. Also, remember that their defining moment was a failure of Konoha's other shinobi to detect and counter an attack before it reached the village, so yeah, they have trust issues. Overall, the Chunin Exams were a string of experiments for me – Yohko's match, Mitsumi vs. Raiden, and Mitsumi vs. Yohko. The only two I had any separate plans for going in were Raiden vs. Hanabi & Mitsumi vs. Saburo, both of which got the points I was reaching for clear (strength, unpredictability, the Guardians' focus on non-exam issues, etc.), so the rest were geared more towards demonstrating the Guardians' oddness than on their techniques. Also, the Guardians really don't fit expectations well. Were Yohko and Maeda ever encounter one another again, it won't go so smoothly – fore-warned is fore-armed, after all. Anyways, sorry if this is a little long-winded, but there're only a couple chapters left. I hope you enjoy them as much as you seem to have the early story, and thanks for reading!


	33. 32 The Price of Power

**Rise of the Guardians**

By Daishi Prime

- 32 – The Price of Power -

"Foolisssh sschild," Orochimaru murmured into the sudden silence, "he ssshould have known that mere techniques could not compensssate for hisss inexssperiencssse."

The suddenness of it, the absolute and obvious finality of that blow, froze everyone in place. It was a known fact that Genin could not do battle with Jounin, so such encounters rarely resulted outside of training, and usually ended in capture, a live shinobi being more valuable than a dead one. None of them, save perhaps the summoned Akatsuki, had ever seen such outright... murder... on a battlefield.

Juubei, drawing back from where he and Kuma had been helping Naruto engage Deidara, sensing Kuma do the same. He ignored the Serpent, hoping and dreading that Raiden had finished the technique before dying. He had not noticed in time, not before Raiden took it too far to turn away, but now that it was done, he found he could only hope that Raiden's sacrifice would not be in vain.

Orochimaru started to draw back his tongue, chuckling, only to cut off with a sudden choke. Faster than sight, Raiden's left hand snapped up, from limp at his side, to seize the Serpent's tongue just short of the sword's hilt. **"Orochimaru."** The voice that rumbled out of Raiden's mouth was strange, a shifting, breathless, heavy sound that had no place in a human throat.

Juubei heard that voice, and tensed further, giving his own short, harsh bark of laughter. "You should all be running," he announced. "He won't hurt us, we're marked, but anyone not carrying the Seal of the Guard of Seven had best flee."

For a moment, everyone's attention was on Juubei, then Raiden spoke again, in that same alien voice,** "Orochimaru. I have a contract for your soul. Four years it has stood in abeyance. My Chosen tells me now is the time to collect, and I see no reason to spare you any longer."** Raiden's head came up, but it was no longer entirely his face, and a collective sound of fear and horror rolled through the chamber. Fangs protruded from his mouth, small horns could be seen budding beneath the skin of his forehead, his skin had become dusky, but paler. Worst of all, his all black eyes had changed once again, to solid white orbs pierced by needle-point black pupils, which were focused on the Serpent.

For his part, Orochimaru was staring back in what could only be called rank terror. His face was slack, his eyes wide, pupils dilated until almost no gold remained.

Naruto appeared next to Juubei, staring like everyone else at the apparition that had been Raiden. In a soft, mostly confused voice, he asked, "What... what's going on?"

"Assumption of Aspect," Juubei explained. "Raiden has summoned the patron of his Seal to the Middle Kingdom, using his own body as conduit and host. Raiden is no more. In his place, stands the Shinigami, Lord of Death. You can either run, or relax and wait for him to get around to killing you."

"Kami-sama, any of you kids can do that?"

Juubei shrugged, "if we want it bad enough, yeah. It's a one-way trip, though. Raiden is gone, there is no coming back from this. That's why we all swore never to use it."

"Looks like he didn't remember that part."

"He remembered it," Juubei said, looking away from Shinigami finally, to where his sister and Hinata were still curled up on the ground, apparently unconscious. "The bastard remembered it well enough to keep those two from figuring out what he had planned."

Movement brought his gaze back to Shinigami, in time to watch a black energy rising off his fist, searing through Orochimaru's tongue. The part around the sword slumped to the ground, while that still attached to the Serpent slammed back with enough force to knock the Sanin off his perch. A moment later, the sword was drawn out of Raiden's chest in a single smooth motion, and his transformation into Shinigami completed, creating a disturbing amalgam of Raiden's features and build, with strange colors and protuberances no human had ever had.

**"Chosen of Okuninushi,"** Shinigami rumbled, **"collect your siblings and watch over them, but remain here. I would speak with you once I have discharged my contract."**

Juubei needed no other invitation, and reached Mitsumi and Hinata in a single leap. Rumiko appeared at the same time, with Kuma a step behind. Hinata was still holding Mitsumi around the waste in a vice-like grip, both of them curled up in fetal position, faces twisted in pain, pale and shivering. Testing Hinata's grip lightly, he asked Rumiko, "Can we separate them?"

She shrugged, then began running glowing hands over the pair, a fast cursory check. When she was done, she shook her head, shrugged again, and signed, I do not think there is nothing physically wrong with them. But I do not understand their link, how Raiden's technique may be affecting them.

"Separate them," Jiraiya ordered, leaning over Juubei's shoulder, Yohko slung over _his_ shoulder. "Physical contact strengthens their link, to the point where their mutual damage is echoing, preventing them from separating themselves."

Juubei glared at the old man, "How do you know that?"

Jiraiya just snorted. He glanced away at an explosion from the far side of the cavern, and Juubei could just see the Deidara clone dissolving into dust in Shinigami's hand. Then the Sanin had his attention again, "Tsunade discussed the link with me, of course, and it's not that hard to figure out the implications. Shinobi have managed similar links before, if not as deep or permanent as I understand this link to be. Hidan, for instance, from the old Akatsuki, used a similar technique to cause anyone attacking him to die from the wounds they inflicted on him. Separate them. As they are, they will only become worse, and we will have to separate them to move them back to Konoha." He unceremoniously dumped Yohko on her rump, ignoring her indignant yelp, "Besides, this one mentioned it, thought it was a good idea to try. So do it."

Juubei looked to Rumiko, and she merely shrugged. After a moment of internal debate, he nodded, and began trying to pry Hinata's grip apart. It took both him and Kuma to manage it without breaking her arms, but Rumiko managed to pull Mitsumi free. Once they were apart, both of them relaxed instantly, though they did curl back into the fetal position. While Rumiko performed a more thorough check on Mitsumi, and Kuma began freeing Yohko, Juubei turned his attention outwards once more. The other Konoha shinobi had gathered around the Guardians, standing watch, but mostly just observing Shinigami's battle with Orochimaru.

If it could be called a battle.

The four summoned Akatsuki were gone, only piles of black dust marking where they had come within arms reach of the avatar stalking them. Tetsuo was nowhere to be seen, and Juubei was fairly certain the would-be S-class had fled rather than fight, which said good things about the man's basic intelligence. Orochimaru himself was proving more intelligent, attempting to outmaneuver the apparition pursuing him, and techniques were literally exploding away from him, maneuver after illusion after fireball, all of which rolled off Shinigami with no more effect than a light summer breeze.

"That has got to be one of the most terrifyingly awesome things I have ever seen," Naruto commented softly. "To think you kids can do that..."

"We can't," Juubei snapped, pulling Mitsumi up to be cradled in his lap. She was stirring slightly, which eased the worry he was feeling.

"That is not Raiden any longer," Kuma reminded Naruto. "You had best all depart. We will remain. To contain it."

Shikamaru gave them a studying look, and asked, "Just how are you going to do that without using the same technique?"

"Our patrons will protect us from him," Hinata whispered, opening her eyes to a squint. "Even without the aspect."

"Hinata!" Naruto crouched down and helped her slowly sit up, "Are you okay? What happened to you?"

"A third of our link committed suicide, baka," Mitsumi muttered. "Now be quiet, my head hurts."

Juubei helped her up, then pulled her into a tight hug, privately amazed at how terrified he had been. Mitsumi was his twin, but he could never remember feeling quite as worried for her as he had been since she and Hinata collapsed. Whispering in her ear, he asked, "Are you two going to be all right?"

"Ask me in a couple decades," she quipped, leaning against him a moment, before turning her attention to Shinigami. She hissed once, then snarled, "I'm gonna kill him if I have to go to Hell to do it."

Juubei chuckled, letting most of the worry go in that sound, reassured by her display of temper. "Don't worry, onee-chan, we'll help."

In the end, Orochimaru's vaunted jutsu were simply insufficient. Powered by a mortal soul and form, however skilled and however strong, he could not compete with Death Incarnate. Shinigami waded through the best and worst the snake Sanin could throw and, in the end, ran him through with his own sword.

At the last moment, as Shinigami's final strike began, Juubei saw Orochimaru attempt a final jutsu, and his body jerked like a puppet just before the sword struck. Shinigami's free hand snatched at empty air, however, and a moment later, a translucent image appeared in his grip, a vaguely defined human form, lacking arms.

"Fool," Juubei muttered, "you may be able to cheat Death sometimes, but not when he's right in front of you."

Shinigami smiled at the ghostly form in his hand, and it slowly began to dissolve, turning into a cloud of vapors that rapidly spiraled up Shinigami's arm, fading into his skin until nothing was left but the corpse of Uchiha Itachi. A dismissive flick of Shinigami's hand freed his sword, and then he turned to the gathered Konoha shinobi. He began walking over, a slow, deliberate pace, that caused them all to tense.

**"Relax,"** he ordered, **"there is only one of you who needs fear me now, and that one can no more alter his fate than Orochimaru."**

Naruto shoved his way to the front of the group, declaring, "We're not letting you kill one of us just 'cause you want to!"

"Then you should have no problem with him killing Yakushi Kabuto," Yohko told him.

"Kabuto?" Naruto's confusion was mirrored on several other faces, "He died fighting the last Akatsuki."

Juubei caught the motion out of the side of his eye, and whipped his head around to see the traitor, still in his second-stage form, trying to slip further into the tunnel. Juubei whipped up one hand, charging a Thousand Leaves but not throwing it, "I can't miss at this range, traitor," he snarled, "and that corridors ruler straight for over twenty meters. I can fill it with blades, and the rest of us'll be on you in a heartbeat."

Sasuke froze, then sighed and shrugged, voice changing slightly as his posture relaxed, "Hey, would you rather Orochimaru got him? He'd've been a hell of a lot more dangerous with this Seal on top of the Sharingan, instead of just the Sharingan he got from Itachi."

All of them were watching Kabuto now, the older shinobi trying to keep the traitor and the demon in view, while the Guardians focused solely on the traitor. Kabuto shrugged again, then moved in a flash. He dropped into a crouch, a chidori forming in an instant, then began to leap towards the ceiling, obviously intending to bring the ceiling down to cover his escape.

Orochimaru's sword stopped him, thrown past the Konoha shinobi to bury itself in his gut, severing his spine in the process. The chidori hit the floor a moment after, exploding in a deafening roar in the narrow passage, but only digging a crater, instead of collapsing the passage. Kabuto lay on the ground, twitching weakly as he tried to pull the sword out.

Shinigami appeared next to him, fazing into presence. He reached down, and wrenched the blade out roughly, causing Kabuto to gasp in pain. Then the Lord of Death leaned down, and sketched a small seal on the man's forehead, one that settled into the bluish-purple skin as brilliant white lines. Standing, Shinigami turned to the Konoha shinobi. **"This one has broken the Laws, destroying this body's proper soul and seizing it for himself as his own body died. Thus, he belongs to me. However, I am willing to leave him for your judgment, and take mine when his current body dies. Do with him what you will."**

He then walked closer, causing most to draw back. Mitsumi and Hinata stood, and Juubei moved with them. When they stepped forward to confront Shinigami, he would have joined them, but a gesture from Mitsumi stopped him. Instead, he and the other four Guardians merely watched as the trio studied one another for a time.

Shinigami was the first to move, holding the sword flat across his spread hands. **"Kusanagi no Tsurugi,"** he told them, **"one of the oldest and most powerful weapons in the Middle Kingdom. A weapon fit for a god, bound by divine gift to be used only by mortals. I place it in your keeping, Chosen of Amaterasu. You are not to wield it, nor are your fellow Chosen. You are to carry it, to guard it, and to present it to its next wielder, when you find that person. Will you accept this charge? Will you carry this weapon without using it?"**

Juubei could not see her face, but he thought he knew what she was thinking, as she hesitated. That sword had caused so much damage to Konoha, even if the blade itself was not at fault. It brought chaos, change and conflict wherever it went, which meant _she _would bring those things, if she took it up. Part of him wanted to be the one to do that. He could practically feel the weapon in his hand, the perfect balance, the effortless use... but he also knew he would be too tempted to use it, and that with Shinigami's instruction not to, doing so would be painfully final.

Eventually, Hinata reached out her own hands, lifting the blade from Shinigami's grip. "I will carry it, without using it, until its new wielder is found," she promised.

The two of them bowed, formally acknowledging the passage of the weapon. When they straightened, Mitsumi shoved herself forward, getting right in Shinigami's face, which would have been comical, had the air around her not been shimmering with heat. Juubei noticed the seal on her hand glowing read, and felt an almost irresistible urge to grab and run – her, or Hinata, he was not sure which, but he really wanted to get one of them out of what he was sure was about to revert to a battle zone.

"Give him back," Mitsumi ordered, voice harsh and grating. "You're done here. You've finished your mission. Give him back! Now!"

Shinigami just looked down at her for a time, face impassive, as she began to quiver with suppressed rage, the shimmer of heat growing more pronounced. Hinata settled a hand on her shoulder, but that did nothing to calm her. Finally, Shinigami shook his head slowly, almost sadly. **"I cannot. Had he completed the technique properly, I could be convinced to allow it. However, he completed the technique in the moment of his own death. He thus created a rift, between Hell and the Middle Kingdom, that must be sealed. It cannot be closed while he remains on this side of it."**

"Then leave it open!"

**"I cannot do that, for worse things than I would use it. Worse even than the Kyuubi, sealed away at such cost. Do you think your Raiden, my Chosen, approves of that idea? I assure you, he does not."**

"Don't tell me what he'd approve of!" Mitsumi's voice was practically a shriek, and she backed it up with a viciously fast punch, fist aflame from sheer will. It slammed to a halt in Shinigami's hand, searing and scorching but apparently not bothering him in the slightest.

**"I have balanced your binding such that his departure will not damage you further, and will make allowances for your distress,"** Shinigami said, voice taking on a warning tone, **"but do not presume to strike me, Chosen of Inari. All things lie within my purview, including your patron. Strike me again, and I will claim you. My Chosen pursued this course knowing full well what it could cost, and he remains willing to pay that price. Your tantrum demeans his sacrifice, and your death would diminish it."**

"Mitsumi," Hinata said, hand still on her shoulder, "Let it go, Mitsumi. He is gone, and we cannot bring him back by battling Shinigami. Men have traveled to Hell and returned before, we will simply have to determine how to do so ourselves."

Mitsumi shifted, just enough to look at her, and Juubei could see the hope rising in her eyes, even as the anger and grief on her face remained. He desperately wanted to hug her again, wrap her up in his arms and promise to make it all better, like a brother should, but Hinata had a better chance of calming and comforting Mitsumi than he did, which was a painful thing to admit.

"We cannot win here," Hinata continued, "but we can win elsewhere, later. Just a little time, Mitsumi." Mitsumi just nodded slowly, drawing back her fist, letting the flames die down, then hid her face in Hinata's shoulder. Hinata turned her all-black eyes on Shinigami, now, "Your presence here is no longer required. I would suggest you return where you came from, before my patron takes offense at your continued activities."

Shinigami actually bowed to her, and without a word, strode back into the chamber. He stepped up to the wall, where a long red bloodstain marked Raiden's fall, and wavered. For just a moment, Juubei could see Raiden himself, as he had been at the last moment, through a hulking illusory presence. Then there was a swirl of black, and nothing.

The relief from the chakra pressure was so sudden and so absolute it left him lightheaded, and he only realized at the last that he had been struggling since Shinigami arrived to keep himself conscious and stable.

"Let's get Kabuto and the proof of mission, then get out of here," Shikamaru decided, "sticking around's probably a bad idea."

------------------------------

Four days passed after their return to Konoha. The Guardians presented themselves to the Hokage, with their sensei, and accepted her punishment of two months suspension and forbidding them from the Chunin Exam for four years. Her threat of more severe penalties to come after review of mission reports did not seem to phase them at all. Once that was done, and their own reports delivered, the six remaining Guardians returned to the Dojo, and locked the door behind them, taking no visitors, not even Hinata's father, not even Kakashi and Anko.

Tsunade was perfectly happy to let them hibernate. Shinobi secrets or not, one of the seven non-Guardians told someone about what happened, and rumors and exaggerations were running rampant by the second day. They were bad enough, that she was forced to post Uchiha Itachi's remains for verification that yes, he was finally proven dead, and to inform the Elders that the last Uchiha, Uchiha Sasuke, had been Yakushi Kabuto in disguise for over a year, using them to hide from Orochimaru. In all, leaving the Guardians for later was just fine with her.

Getting the story straight, and dealing with the Elders' demands for more and more information, proved complicated and annoying, especially once they began shifting from questioning what happened, to questioning what she was going to do about the Guardians. She would have loved to have an answer for them, but she had little to no idea herself. Their proven power, now proven beyond doubt, was too great for her to simply dispose of them, as some Elders wished, yet they had also demonstrated an uncontrollable independence that made keeping them around too dangerous.

Depressing as it was, she was actually glad of the distraction of Raiden's memorial. Violating orders or not, short life or not, he had made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of Konoha, and earned himself a place both on the Stone, and in Konoha's legends. So the memorial, without a body as was all too common, was held at the Stone itself. Anko carved his name in the stone herself, using a plain kunai and no chakra as tradition demanded to slowly carve the characters into the smooth stone.

The crowd in observance was surprisingly large. Raiden's classmates were there, as were the families of the other Guardians. But a number of shinobi who had little to no knowledge of him and his were there, attracted by the furor the Guardians had caused the three times they came to public attention, hoping for a look at the survivors. But those survivors were not present, not when the service began, not when the carving was finished. Not until the last of the speeches was given, the last mourner with anything to say had said their piece.

A rustle at the back of the crowd attracted Tsunade's attention, resolving into a channel opening for the six Guardians. Watching them approach two by two, she was filled with a sense of foreboding. Hinata and Mitsumi lead them, followed by Juubei and Yohko, with Kuma and Rumiko in the rear. Over their normal clothes, each of them had added a long-sleeved, ground-length coat of pure white, with a single black character over their left breast. Tsunade could only see Hinata's and Mitsumi's, Life and Fire respectively, but she knew the others would each wear the mark of their Seal – Water, Air, Earth and Wood respectively. Slung across Hinata's back was Kusunagi no Tsurugi, peace-bound to its scabbard.

What filled her with dread was the fact that none of them were wearing their hitai-ate.

The six of them maintained the same steady pace through the crowd as it made way before them. When the reached the space at the head of the line, they spread out in a line and spent several seconds just staring at the Stone, contemplating in silence.

Anko broke the silence first, "Hey, gaki, I was getting worried you'd miss this. The six of you knew him best, one of you should say something." She gestured at the small speaker's stand, for once managing a smile that wasn't manic.

The six Guardians looked at her as one, unblinking. Then Hinata raised one arm, pointing at the stone, "Kuma, please erase that." A shiver of sound went through the crowd, but shock held them long enough for Kuma to step up to the Stone, and run a single finger over Raiden's name, erasing it from the stone as if it had never been there. Hinata continued, as Kuma stepped back into line, "Kodachi Raiden is not dead. He is beyond our reach, but he has not died, and does not belong upon the Stone."

"Shinigami claimed him personally," Jiraiya interrupted, "You don't get any more dead than that."

Hinata's gaze never left Tsunade, but the Hokage saw Mitsumi's disdainful expression directed at her old teammate. "Were he dead," Hinata argued, "Mitsumi and I would also be dead. Raiden is not dead. But we must find a way to reach him, and we cannot do that here."

Tsunade's gaze sharpened at that. "You plan to leave? And you're foolish enough to inform us here, with this many gathered close to contain you?"

Hinata actually smiled, a ghost of her old smile, shy and wistful. "You may try to stop us, Godaime Hokage, but you will fail. We will attempt to kill as few as possible, but we will not permit you to hinder our departure."

"The Dojo's barrier is quite a bit stronger than we thought, Godaime," Juubei said, "strong enough to contain Assumption of Aspect."

Tsunade felt a shock so profound for a moment she could only stare at him. _After what it cost them, they all tried it?_ She had no doubt that if one of them had done it, all of them had. "How fast can you do it again, though?"

"We are the avatars of our patrons," Juubei replied with a shrug, "we can assume their aspect as quickly as we need to, now."

"We cannot remain here, Godaime," Hinata repeated, "It would not be safe, for us or for the village. We are too strong, too strange. Our continued presence in Konoha will draw the envy of other hidden villages, to the point where Konoha will be attacked, again and again, until it falls, or the other villages do. This would cause us to violate our oath, to bring harm upon this village, harm we swore to protect it against."

"So we're leaving," Mitsumi continued, "now, when we can do so freely, without having to wade through armies of foreign shinobi. We will walk where we will, searching for the path to Raiden's freedom."

"We have extended our oath, as well," Yohko said. "Logically, the best way to protect Konoha from foreign attack our presence would bring is to ensure that those villages do not fear or envy Konoha, but fear and envy us. We shall become enforcers, neutral judges of the shinobi world. We will guard Konoha by guarding everyone. We will not seek to rule, but neither will we allow attacks such as Orochimaru's, or organizations such as Akatsuki, or another shinobi war."

"You will see us again, Godaime," Hinata picked up the thread again, "though never again as Konoha shinobi. We are Guardians now, first and always, nothing more and nothing less. Will you accept this fact, or will you force us to prove it to you?"

Tsunade listened to the entire speech with only half her attention. The rest was analyzing, studying, predicting. The six were correct in that their power, as demonstrated by Raiden, would bring intrigue and espionage far beyond the norm to Konoha, possibly even encourage some sort of pre-emptive strike from another hidden village. There were several currently experiencing tense relations with Konoha. Even Suna, now Konoha's strongest ally, was making less-than-friendly efforts to discover more about the Guardians and their seal. Getting rid of the Guardians would mitigate that, but not eliminate it, unless... "What of the journal?"

"We have destroyed every copy," Yohko told her, "even the original in Hokage Tower. Even the decoded copies we had hidden. Each of us now carries part of it with us," she tapped her temple, "up here, where none but us may access it. The seal will live and die with us."

That simplified things even further. Even better, she could simply wash her hands of the Guardians, especially if they were serious about enforcing any peace equally, against Konoha as well as the other hidden villages. Plus, if they really had completed their seals, she seriously doubted the entire village would be able to contain them. The trick would be to sell it to the Elders.

Movement at the front of the crowd broke her attention. Hyuuga Hiashi walked slowly around the Guardians, stopping in front of his daughter. For a moment, he studied her, then asked, "You have considered this carefully?"

"Hai, Hyuuga-san."

Tsunade felt a ripple of surprise at the form of address, she had never heard Hinata call her father that. Hiashi carried on, however, "You understand that, once you leave, you will never be permitted to return? If you do, it will be as a foreigner, under threat of imprisonment or worse?"

"We must go, Hyuuga-san."

"Why do you keep calling me that?"

Hinata actually blushed, then straightened. She pulled a scroll from inside her new coat, and held it out. "Kodachi Raiden had no surviving relatives. He was the last of his name. I will carry on that name, to remember him, to honor the sacrifice he made, even though I still hope to save him. I am no longer of Clan Hyuuga."

Hiashi took the scroll, unrolling it easily and studying its contents. He was quick, but thorough, scanning the entire document through several minutes of silence. Finally, he rolled it again, still moving in his slow, deliberate manner, until the scroll was tied shut once more. Tsunade crossed her fingers, waiting for his response, and seriously wanted to shout for joy, when he bowed to Hinata and told her, "Your abdication is accepted, Kodachi Hinata."

Hinata returned the bow, far more formally than she would have the day before. "Thank you, Hyuuga-san."

Watching the two of them relax, Tsunade made her own decision, and stepped up next to Hiashi. "I've decided what your punishment is going to be. For stealing the journal, for using such a dangerous technique, and for blatantly disobeying my orders and leaving Konoha without permission. As Hokage, I hereby sentence the six of you to exile, beginning at sunrise tomorrow. After sunrise, if you are found within Konoha's borders, you are fair game for any shinobi to attack, should they so choose."

"Understood, Godaime Hokage," Hinata replied, bowing again.

Without another word, the six of them turned and left, back down the aisle their entrance had left, giving Tsunade one more surprise. Centered on the back of their coats were not their personal element symbols, as she had expected.

It was the symbol of Void, the element of Death.


	34. 33 Visitations

**Rise of the Guardians**

By Daishi Prime

- Epilogue – Visitation -

"The Six departed in the night, unnoticed and unmarked by the guards on the walls. But they did not disappear, as many had hoped. They were seen again, always in their pairs, always in their coats. Their power grew, as the years past, and they fulfilled their oath. But always, even now, they struggle and search for the path to their missing leader, the Chosen of Death, Kodachi Raiden. The Stone will not bear his name, even today, and it is said that only when the last of the Guardians falls will any of it take any of their names."

Sakura let the last sentence trail off into a whisper, not only for dramatic effect, and smiled at the expressions of rapt attention on the circle of young faces about her, a veritable sea of strawberry blonde and blue in wide smiling faces. The youngest was barely able to sit up, but he was cradled in the lap of one of his older cousins, securely held, even if he was too young to really understand the story. _You would so love them,_ Naruto, she thought, _and be proud of them. They're just like their parents were._

"Thank you, obaa-san," Ayaka said, rising from her seat on the floor. "I love hearing your stories."

"Are they really still around? The Guardians?" That from Hiro, old enough at seven to question the stories, but young enough to want to believe them.

"Oh, yes," Sakura reassured him. She would have reached out to ruffle his golden hair, but she was so tired these days, so she settled for smiling, and continuing, "they come by to visit the Hokage from time to time, as the visit all the Kages. You'll have to be very good to spot them, however, as they never stay in one place for long, and never _allow _themselves to be seen."

"If you're very good, Hiro-chan, you might be able to see one of them one day," his mother, Haruno Ino, said, appearing in the door. "But not tonight. Tonight, it's time for all the little ones to be abed. You've got an exam in the morning, Ayaka and Setusna, so you two have to go now as well. Let your grandmother have a little peace."

Sakura would have protested, but her daughter was right. It was past bedtime, actually, but Sakura had such few opportunities to see all her grandchildren, she could not feel too guilty about keeping them up and with her. She had found, years ago when Sarutobi had been born, that her children and grandchildren were far more precious to her than she ever expected, far more than dreams of love, more than being a ninja. Protecting and watching these children grow gave her a greater sense of accomplishment than all her skill and fame as a ninja.

She watched as various parents, her surviving children and their spouses, herded the little ones out, but she did not join in. She was too tired, and she ached deep in her bones. She knew the signs, better than most as she had cared for Tsunade in her final years. She was getting old, faster than she should have, for she was just as vain as her teacher had been, a thought that woke an ironic smile as the last of the children left, and silence descended on the room as she let her arms slide closed.

It did not last long.

"Haruno Sakura," The voice was male, she could tell that immediately, and something about it tickled at her memory, but she could not place it, "Konoha's Blood Flower, founder and matriarch of Clan Haruno, credited with creation of the Haruno bloodline limit." All of that was recognizable, though the nickname was a bit annoying. A Mist-nin stuck that on her when she used a healing jutsu to kill his partner. The last two filled her with bittersweet pride.

"It should have been Clan Uzumaki," she whispered.

Her still-unseen visitor chuckled, and she finally realized he was behind her. Which was strange, since there was less than an inch between her chair back and the wall of her home. "Indeed, you were the Rokudaime's not-so-secret lover for decades, until his death."

"Cumulative injurious shock," she muttered, "he was always getting hurt, relying on Kyuubi to heal him, but..."

"But even Kyuubi's abilities were not perfect, and his mortal form could no longer sustain the demon chakra." A hand settled on her shoulder, "do not grieve for him. He was content with his life, in the end, and loves you more than he did when you were children."

"And you would know this how?"

The source of the voice moved around in front of her, and she finally got a good look at him. "Oh, Kami-sama," she whispered, "you haven't aged a day."

Kodachi Raiden stood before her, giving her a slight, sad smile, long white hair pulled back in a tail, all black eyes narrowed almost lazily, wearing the same hakima jacket and pants he had always favored, though now with the addition of what was now universally known as a Guardian's Coat. "Yes I have," he replied, "just not in a way that shows."

Sakura only needed a few moment to realize why he was appearing before her. To her surprise, however, the realization brought only a sense of relief. Instead of bringing it up, however, she said, "You know, they've never stopped looking for you. Hinata and Mitsumi were in Konoha not two months ago, we talked for a couple of hours. They're still determined to find you."

He nodded, and his smile faded to a sorrowful frown, "I know, but they are never destined to meet me again. What they have become is not subject to normal mortality, and Shinigami prefers to send others to retrieve those who die by violence."

"So it's my time after all," she said. "I can't say it's been a great life, but... it was a good one. So, is my place in Hell already arranged? Is that why you are here?"

The smile returned. "Shinigami is the lord of the Dead, Sakura-san," he said, stepping forward to offer her a hand, "good, bad, everyone else. Neither you, nor your husband, were condemned to Hell." She reached out and took his hand, and all the aches and tiredness faded as he helped her stand. "I am here to show you the way," he said, tightening his grip, "but it is your choice whether or not to follow me. All souls have the option to remain, but it is a listless, lifeless, agonizing way to exist."

"I'm ready," she said. "I just wish you could see your siblings again. You would be proud of them."

A swirling light appeared behind him, "I am proud of them," he said. "I have watched over them from Hell, and the link still works well enough for me to let them know that."

"I'll pray for you," she said, stepping forward into the light. Part of her wanted to look back, to see one more time what she was leaving behind, but she decided it was probably a bad idea.

"I'm fine," he replied, "my fate is of my own choice and making, and not so bad. At least I'm not bored, and I don't think you will be either."

She was going to reply, but a new voice cut her off, one lost in the light. "Sakura-chan!"

------------------------------

Raiden watched the light fade, watched her soul slip into its next stage peacefully, and bowed his head, offering a silent prayer for the departed. He always felt a touch of grief, but those he came to now were at the end of full lives, and death was often as much a relief as a loss. Still, he knew those she left behind would grieve, and for just a moment, entered into the Middle Kingdom fully, arranging her remains to peaceful repose.

A touch on his mind made him pause. _Is it always that easy?_

_No, Hinata-chan, it is not always that easy. But it usually is._

_We miss you. Mitsumi is going to be angry she slept through this._

_I'll be back again, as you well know._

_We're still looking. We are avatars of the gods, there must be a way to return you to us._

Raiden sighed, shaking his head even though he knew she could not see him. _There may be, but there is no need to rush. I have plenty to do, and you have too much to do. We all have our roles now, Hinata, and they are separate rolls. Give it a few centuries. Someone else will try to summon a demon, or recreate the Seal. We have all of time._

_But we will still miss you._

_And I you,_ he offered, fading out of the Middle Kingdom.

_Sayonara._

------------------------------

FIN

------------------------------

Final Author's Note

I started this almost two years ago as a self-challenge. I've written plenty of single-chapter stories, but had never successfully written a multi-chapter story of any length. I originally had just three scenes pictured – the prologue, Raiden's Chunin Exam match with Hanabi (originally supposed to be versus Mitsumi) and Raiden's transformation into Shinigami. I planned for ten chapters, maybe fifteen, and figured I'd be lucky to pull that off. Even more of a challenge, this was the first story I ever distributed beyond my immediate family and friends, the first I specifically wrote to be widely distributed, which most of you probably realize is a rather frightening prospect. Needless to say, this thing ballooned rather quickly. It is, far and away, the longest, most complicated piece of writing I have ever undertaken, which is painfully evident in places. It is so long, in fact, that I'm afraid I've lost the impetus with which carried me through most of this story.

To those of you still reading this, my thanks and I hope you enjoyed it. To those who reviewed, you have my thanks for your time and attention. To those with constructive criticism and recommendations, you have my thanks again, for your assistance.

I have no plans, as of now, to do anything further with the Guardians, but I have a couple ideas for Naruto stories, that I may pursue in the future. They'll be of lighter tone, since part of my problem here was simply how serious the characters were, but they won't be pure comedy pieces. I've also got several other stories in process in other fandoms, if you're interested in expanding your horizons (yes, shameless self-promotion:).

Thank you all again, and as they said above, sayonara.


End file.
